Risk assessment related to biogenic amines occurrence in ready-to-eat baby foods

The Factors Influencing the Concentration of Histamine in Jarred Baby Foods Containing Fish, Considering Evaluation of Daily Histamine Intake

Histamine is one of the biogenic amines produced naturally in the human body, but also in foods, especially those rich in protein. Exogenous and endogenous histamine is subject to degradation in vivo, but in the case of sensitive groups, including children, these degradation processes may be less intense, resulting in adverse health effects from histamine excess. The aim of the study was to determine the histamine content in jarred baby foods containing fish, taking into account the selected product characteristics and storage conditions. The study included 140 meals with added fish, intended for infants and young children, from 5 leading manufacturers available in Poland. The infant meals were analyzed on the day of opening, after 24 h and 48 h of storage in the refrigerator and at room temperature. Histamine concentration was determined by ELISA. The THQ was calculated from the EDI values for histamine. Histamine was present in all analyzed baby foods. On the day of opening, the products had a lower content of this monoamine (Me = 2.59 mg/kg), which increased systematically during storage. Samples taken at 2 °C after 48 h showed an average histamine content of 4.4 mg/kg, while products stored at 22 °C at the same time showed a 1.8-fold higher concentration of this monoamine (Me = 7.9 mg/kg). Dishes containing tuna and sea fish had higher histamine levels on average than those containing pollock. The storage conditions of the children's food had a significant effect on histamine concentration. The level of histamine in baby foods was related to the amount and type of fish in certain products. The results indicate the need for increased awareness of the risks associated with histamine, especially in a group of people with increased sensitivity to this amine, which may include infants and young children.

Recent advances in development of electrochemical biosensors for the detection of biogenic amines

Biogenic amines (BAs) are widely found in food as a consequence of diverse factors including free amino acid availability, microbial production of decarboxylases, and variations in processing and storage conditions. Hence, BAs are considered as an important marker for determining the freshness and quality of food. Owing to the documentation of BAs in different dietary products, their numerous negative impacts on human health have reported to be a serious concern in past few decades. Therefore, the quantification of these chemical species in food becomes crucial as it can immensely contributes toward control of new episodes on food intoxication in humans. In this line, various chromatographic and colorimetric methods have been developed to detect BAs. However, these methods are in use from a longer time, still are limited by high cost, lengthy procedures, huge infrastructure and skilled personnel requirements that hinder their on-field application. In pursuit of a reliable method offering accurate detection of BAs, this review presents the state-of-the-art of electrochemical strategies for BAs sensing in food. The core of the review discusses about the widely employed electrochemical transducers, such as amperometric, potentiometric, impedimetric and conductometric-based BAs biosensors with significant findings of research work conducted previously. The application of electrochemical sensors to analyze BAs in different fields including food systems (fermented and non-fermented types) and smart packaging systems has been reviewed. Moreover, existing challenges and further available prospects for the development of rapid, facile, and sensitive electrochemical strategies for on-site determination of BAs have also been discussed.

Biogenic Amines in Meat and Meat Products: A Review of the Science and Future Perspectives

Biogenic amines (BAs) can be found in a wide range of meat and meat products, where they are important as an index for product stability and quality, but also for their impact on public health. This review analyzes the scientific evidence gathered so far on the presence and role of biogenic amines in meat and meat products, also considering the effect of technological conditions on BAs accumulation or decrease. The data provided can be useful for developing solutions to control BAs formation during the shelf-life, for example by novel starters for dry cured products, as well as by packaging technologies and materials for fresh meats. Further research, whose trends are reviewed in this paper, will fill the knowledge gaps, and allow us to protect such perishable products along the distribution chain and in the home environment.

Biogenic Amines' Content in Safe and Quality Food

Biogenic amines (BAs) are bioactive compounds distributed in foods of all origins. Apart from their fundamental role in many body functions, great interest is recently being focused on their toxicological potential, and many pieces of research are being carried out to understand their occurrence related to both desired and undesired fermentative phenomena, chemical spoilage, low hygienic conditions, wrong handling, and criticism about technological factors of process and storage conditions. All these causes can contribute to a higher content of them in food, particularly of those hazardous to human health. This editorial has the purpose to collect works looking for new tools to limit the over-production of BAs' in food, see new food sources of them, and mainly to switch on a spotlight between the concept of safe food and BAs' content.

Levels of biogenic amines in cheese: correlation to microbial status, dietary intakes, and their health risk assessment

Biogenic amines (BAs) are natural toxicants produced during the metabolism of their precursor amino acids or due to the proteolytic activities of some microorganisms. The objective of this study was to estimate the formed BAs in five types of the most commonly consumed and retailed cheese in Egypt. The examined cheese types included Feta, Karish, Mozzarella, Rumy, and Mish. Besides, the total mesophilic (TMC) and total psychrophilic (TPsC) bacterial counts were investigated. Furthermore, the estimated daily intakes (EDI) of BAs via the ingestion of various types of cheese were calculated, and their potential health risks were discussed. The achieved results indicated the formation of histamine (HIS), tyramine (TYR), cadaverine (CAD), putrescine, spermine, and spermidine at different concentrations. Except for Feta cheese, all samples (100%) of other cheese types had HIS concentrations higher than the established maximum permissible limits. Mish cheese contained the highest concentrations of total BAs, particularly, HIS, TYR, and CAD. TBA content showed significant positive correlations with TMC in the examined cheese types. The recorded EDI values of the different BAs in the current study would not have adverse effects. However, excessive consumption of cheese contaminated with BA might have serious health implications such as symptoms of histamine poisoning. Therefore, the adoption of strict hygienic measures during the production, storage, and distribution of cheese is highly recommended to reduce the formation of BAs in cheese.

Postbiotics produced by lactic acid bacteria: The next frontier in food safety

There are many critical challenges in the use of primary and secondary cultures and their biological compounds in food commodities. An alternative is the application of postbiotics from the starter and protective lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The concept of postbiotics is relatively new and there is still not a recognized definition for this term. The word "postbiotics" is currently used to refer to bioactive compounds, which did not fit to the traditional definitions of probiotics, prebiotics, and paraprobiotics. Therefore, the postbiotics may be presently defined as bioactive soluble factors (products or metabolic byproducts), produced by some food-grade microorganisms during the growth and fermentation in complex microbiological culture (in this case named cell-free supernatant), food, or gut, which exert some benefits to the food or the consumer. Many LAB are considered probiotic and their postbiotic compounds present similar or additional health benefits to the consumer; however, this review aimed to address the most recent applications of the postbiotics with food safety purposes. The potential applications of postbiotics in food biopreservation, food packaging, and biofilm control were reviewed. The current uses of postbiotics in the reduction and biodegradation of some food safety-related chemical contaminants (e.g., biogenic amines) were considered. We also discussed the safety aspects, the obstacles, and future perspectives of using postbiotics in the food industry. This work will open up new insights for food applications of postbiotics prepared from LAB.

Biogenic Amines and Free Amino Acids in Traditional Fermented Vegetables-Dietary Risk Evaluation

Biogenic amines (BAs) are low molecular weight organic bases. BAs occurring naturally in living organisms are responsible for a number of vital functions, including (in humans) secretion of gastric acids, controlling body temperature, differentiation and growth of cells, immune reactions, and brain activity. However, if oversupplied with food, BAs may cause food poisoning and produce undesirable effects. Nine BAs and eight free amino acids (FAAs) were determined in 85 samples of 19 different varieties of fermented vegetables available on the Polish retail market. Both BA and FAA levels differed significantly among various varieties of the studied fermented vegetables. Averages for the sum of all tested BAs ranged from 30.29 ± 16.43 mg·kg^-1 in fermented olives to 612.1 ± 359.33 mg·kg^-1 in fermented Brussels sprout. BA profiles were dominated by putrescine (42%), tyramine (20%), cadaverine (18%), and histamine (8%); jointly, the four amines amounted to 88% of all nine studied BAs. The combined level of the latter four BAs was calculated for each vegetable variety as the so-called BA index (BAI). On that basis, the risk of BA-related adverse health effects has been assessed as high/medium/low in 6/3/10 of all 19 studied varieties of fermented vegetables. Brussels sprout and broccoli turned out to be the most risky vegetables from that point of view (BAI above 400 mg·kg^-1). FAA levels ranged from 54.8 ± 12.76 (fermented olives) to 3917.42 ± 1528.73 mg·kg^-1 (fermented garlic). The high content of FAAs may increase the risk of forming toxic amounts of BAs, depending on characteristics of the current and added microflora as well as on environmental and technological conditions the product is subjected to.

Biogenic amines profile and concentration in commercial milks for infants and young children

Commercial milks for infants and young children (CMIYC) received much attention during last years for their impact on the nutritional status, health and development of the new-born and babies. Among possible contaminants contained in these foods, biogenic amines (BAs) have rarely been determined although they can exert toxic effects in humans if ingested at high concentrations. Spermine, spermidine, putrescine, histamine, tyramine, β-phenylethylamine and cadaverine have been quantified in CMIYC samples by LC-UV after derivatisation with dansyl-chloride. Once optimised in terms of linearity (R² ≥ 0.989), recovery percentages (92.9-97.3), LOD (0.2-0.4 μg g^-1 or 0.03-0.05 μg mL^-1 depending on the samples), LOQ (0.5-1.0 μg g^-1 and 0.08-0.13 μg mL^-1 depending on the samples) and repeatability (0.1-0.2 intra-day; 0.2-0.4 inter-day), the method has been applied to real samples. Very low total BAs concentrations have been found in reconstituted (1.18-3.12 mg L^-1) and liquid milks (0.33-2.30 mg L^-1), with different biogenic amine profiles and distributions. A risk assessment based on the available information regarding Acute Reference Doses of histamine and tyramine, as well as the application of common Biogenic Amine Indexes, showed that none of the analysed samples represented a possible risk for babies, also considering a worst case evaluation. These findings confirmed the strict safety and quality protocols adopted during the production of CMIYC. Chemical compounds studied in this article: Ammonium chloride (PubChem CID: 25517); Cadaverine hydrochloride (PubChem CID: 5351467); Hydrochloridric acid (PubChem CID: 313); Histamine dihydrochloride (PubChem CID: 5818); Phenylethylamine hydrochloride (PubChem CID: 9075); Putrescine dihydrochloride (PubChem CID: 9532); Sodium hydroxide (PubChem CID: 14798); Spermine tetrahydrochloride (PubChem CID: 1103); Spermidine trihydrochloride (PubChem CID: 1102); Tyramine hydrochloride (PubChem CID: 66449).

Food-Related Atrial Fibrillation? The Potential Role of Biogenic Amines in “Nutri-Arrhythmias” Genesis

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of arrhythmia: a disorganized electrical atrial activity leading to irregular ventricular beats. Its most common risk factors include high blood pressure, congenital and valvular heart diseases, aging, heart failure and coronary heart diseases. Other risk factors include excessive alcohol intake, tobacco smoking, diabetes mellitus and thyrotoxicosis. However, many cases are not associated with any of these risk factors: probably, in these patients, immunological, functional and even dietary mechanisms may be responsible to induce cardiac arrhythmias. Several studies have focused on immunological and neurohumoral mechanisms; however, little information is available about the potential relationship between dietary patterns and atrial fibrillation episodes. This case report describes a potential correlation between biogenic amines in ingested food and recurrent atrial fibrillation onset in a 61-years old man in absence of a remarkable clinical history and of the most common risk factors. The nutritional team instituted a food protocol: a low calories diet and eliminating biogenic amines-rich foods. During the follow-up (16 months), there was a noticeable weight loss and no arrhythmic episodes happened again. This clinical case provides evidence for a possible new relationship between some kinds of food and heart conduction (defining the very novel field of arrhythmogenic foods and of “nutri-arrhythmias”), recognizing biogenic amines-rich foods abuse as the potential trigger and substrate for atrial fibrillation. Therefore, we suggested that clinical history in patients with new onset AF should also include questions concerning the ingestion of histamine-rich foodstuffs (or other amines-rich food) and alcohol consumption: their effects may result to be synergistic in the alteration of cardiac rhythm and may explain the recurrence of an unexplained atrial fibrillation.

Liquid Chromatography-Single-Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry as a Responsive Tool for Determination of Biogenic Amines in Ready-to-Eat Baby Foods

Baby food has never been the object of biogenic amine profiling. The aim of this study was to develop a highly sensitive method for analysis of biogenic amines in ready-to-eat baby foods. The principle of the developed method involves high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to single-quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-APCI-MS) of dansyl derivatives, presented also in comparison with common diode array and fluorescence detection systems. The confirmation of correct identification of derivatives was performed by in-source fragmentation of the product ion at 170 m/z, performed only in one MS analyzer. The method was used to identify the amine profile and quantify the putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine content in 68 ready-to-eat baby foods. The limits of detection and quantification were in the range of 0.07-1.67 and 0.2-5.0 ng mL^- 1. The method enabled quantification of amines at ng/g level in almost all analyzed samples, without any preconcentration step. Amine recoveries of 86.0-105.2% were obtained with RSD ≤ 9.7%. The developed method could be used for quantification of the most frequently occurring BAs in foods including vegetables, fish, meat, or fruit at previously undetectable concentration levels, making the method multimatrix applicable and highly-sensitive.