ON THE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF FOOD

Abstract

Poisoning by the biogenic amine histamine is a well-recognised phenomenon that arises from the consumption of food, particularly certain types of scombroid fish, which can have high levels of histamine present as a result of bacterial spoilage. Histamine can also be present as a consequence of fermentation in the production of foods such as certain cheeses or sausages. Incidents of illness involving histamine or suspected histamine in cheese were first reported to the FSA in 2003. Between 2001 and 2007, there were two reported incidents to the FSA linked to histamine in cheese; between 2008 and 2015, there were twenty such reported incidents (to note these data are provisional).