The results of laboratory control of histamine in fish and fish products by HPLC MS/MS

Consumption of fish or fish products with high histamine levels by humans can lead to serious cases of food poisoning. Consequently, the control of histamine levels in these products by public veterinary services becomes key to ensure the health safety of end-users. This article discusses aspects of setting limits for the amount of biogenic amines, including histamine, in fish and fish products. Histamine, arising from the proteolytic activity of certain microorganisms or as a result of the natural metabolic process of amino acid precursors, is the only biogenic amine whose content is controlled by legislation in many countries, including Russia. The analysis of monitoring studies of fish products in the territory of the Russian Federation for 2020-2022 is presented, as well as the results of our own laboratory studies on the detection of histamine in 30 samples of fish and fish products purchased in the retail trade network of Moscow and Moscow region. Determination of histamine was carried out using HPLC MS/MS according to the methodology of FGBI «ARRIAH» «Methodology for determination of histamine content by high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection MI 13-2023». The range of quantitative analysis of histamine corresponds to the norms of the Technical Regulation Eurasian Economic Union 040/2016. The study confirmed that most of the tested samples meet the established safety requirements for histamine content. However, in two samples histamine was detected in amounts exceeding the permissible norms, which makes these products unsuitable for consumption.