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Abstract: Eleven red wines imported from foreign country and 40 domestic fruit wines, including 15 red wines, 4 white wines, 7 plum wines, and 14 other fruit wines, sold in the supermarkets in Taiwan were purchased and tested to determine the occurrence of biogenic amines and histamine-forming bacteria. The levels of pH, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), reducing sugar (RS), total sugar (TS), sulphites, methanol (milligram per liter of pure ethanol), ethanol and Pb in all samples ranged from 3.0 to 4.1, 6.8 to 24.4 °Brix, 0.3 to 1.7g/100mL, 0.2 to 17.6g/100mL, 1.6 to 28.4g/100mL, <2 to 260.5mg/L, <1 to 2559mg/L, 5.0 to 15.6g/100mL and <1 to 46.2μg/L, respectively. The levels of TSS, TA, RS, and TS in plum wine samples were significantly higher than those of the other wines samples, whereas the pH value in plum wine samples was lower than that of the other wines samples. The average content for each of the nine biogenic amines in all samples was less than 5.2mg/L. However, higher levels of histamine and spermine were detected in domestic fruit wine samples than the imported red wine samples. Five histamine-forming isolates isolated from domestic red wine and jackfruit wine, capable of producing 13.0mg/L to 69.1mg/L of histamine in trypticase soy broth (TSB) supplemented with 2g/100mL l-histidine (TSBH) or MRS broth supplemented with 2g/100mL l-histidine (MRSH), were identified as Bacillus pumilus (one strain), Bacillus sp. (two strains) and Acetobacter pasteurianus (one strain) by 16S rDNA sequencing with PCR amplification, and Zygoascus hellenicus var. hellenicus (one strain) by internal transcribed spacer sequencing with PCR amplification. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the occurrence of histamine-forming bacilli bacteria, acetic bacteria and yeast in fruit wine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An incident of food borne poisoning causing illness in 43 victims due to ingestion of swordfish fillets occurred in December, 2004, in Taichung Prefecture, central Taiwan. Eight frozen raw swordfish fillets were collected from the suspected restaurant and analyzed for bacterial content and histamine-related quality. The levels of aerobic plate count, total coliform, and total volatile basic nitrogen in all samples ranged from 5.39 to 6.71 logCFU/g, <3–1360 most probable number (MPN)/g, and 6.44–14.56mg/100g, respectively. None of these samples contained Escherichia coli. The suspected swordfish fillets contained 85.9–293.7mg/100g of histamine greater than the hazard action level of 50mg/100g set by the US. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for tuna fish. Given the allergy-like symptoms of the victims and the high histamine content in the suspected swordfish fillets, this food borne poisoning was strongly suspected to be due to histamine intoxication. In addition, although ten histamine-producing bacteria strains, capable of producing 12.7–33.0ppm of histamine in trypticase soy broth supplemented with 1.0% l-histidine, were identified as Staphylococcus sp. (one strain), S. aureus (two strains) and S. aureus subsp. aureus (seven strains), by 16S rDNA sequencing with PCR amplification, they were not determined to be the main contributors to histamine accumulation in suspected swordfish fillets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Thirty-six natto products imported from Japan and three domestic natto products sold in the supermarkets in southern Taiwan were purchased and tested to determine the occurrence of histamine and histamine-forming bacteria. The levels of pH and aerobic plate count (APC) in all samples ranged from 4.9 to 7.3 and 7.8 to 11.2 log CFU/g, respectively. None of these samples contained total coliform and E. coli. Although the average content for each of the nine biogenic amines in all samples was less than 5mg/100g, seven of them (17.9%) had histamine content greater than 5mg/100g, allowable limit suggested by the US Food and Drug Administration for scombroid fish and/or product. Four histamine-producing bacterial strains capable of producing 13.4ppm to 17.5ppm of histamine in trypticase soy broth (TSB) supplemented with 1.0% l-histidine (TSBH) were identified as Bacillus subtilis (two strains) and Staphylococcus pasteuri (two strains) by 16S rDNA sequencing with PCR amplification. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the occurrence of histamine-forming bacteria in natto products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Seven soybean and 19 black bean douchi products sold in the supermarkets in southern Taiwan were purchased and tested to determine the occurrence of histamine and histamine-forming bacteria. The levels of pH, salt content, water content, yeast and mold, and aerobic plate count (APC) in all samples ranged from 4.7 to 5.9, 4.4% to 14.0%, 6.8% to 51.6%, 3.0 to 5.1logCFU/g, and 5.2 to 9.2logCFU/g, respectively. None of these samples contained total coliform and Escherichia coli. Although black bean douchi products had an average histamine content of 29.0mg/100g, 18 of them had histamine contents greater than 5mg/100g, the allowable level set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for scombroid fish and/or products. In contrast, only four soybean douchi products had histamine levels greater than 5mg/100g. Among the black bean samples, four contained histamine at 56.3, 62.1, 80.2 and 80.8mg/100g, that are above the 50mg/100g hazard action level. Eight histamine-forming bacterial strains, capable of producing 11.7–601ppm of histamine in trypticase soy broth (TSB) supplemented with 1% l-histidine (TSBH), were identified as Bacillus subtilis (four strains) Staphylococcus pasteuri (one strain) and Staphylocuccus capitis (three strains) by 16S rDNA sequencing with PCR amplification. S. capitis, which was previously reported to be halotolerant, was a potent histamine-former capable of producing more than 500ppm of histamine in TSBH in the presence of 0.5–10% NaCl. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Twelve white and ten brown sufu products sold in the supermarkets in southern Taiwan were purchased and tested to determine the occurrence of histamine and histamine-forming bacteria. The levels of pH, salt content, and aerobic plate count (APC) in all samples ranged from 4.6 to 6.6, 6.2% to 12.0%, and 3.0 to 7.9logCFU/g, respectively. None of these samples contained total coliform and Escherichia coli. Although the average content for each of the nine biogenic amines in all samples was less than 5mg/100g, only one brown sufu sample had histamine content (15.8mg/100g) greater than the 5.0mg/100g allowable limit suggested by the US Food and Drug Administration. Two histamine-producing bacterial strains capable of producing 1.33mg/100ml and 1.34mg/100ml of histamine in trypticase soy broth (TSB) supplemented with 1.0% l-histidine (TSBH) were identified as Bacillus subtilis by 16S rDNA sequencing with PCR amplification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An incident of food-borne poisoning, causing illness in three victims due to ingestion of dried milkfish, occurred in February, 2006, in Tainan Prefecture, southern Taiwan. The leftovers of the victims’ dried milkfish and three other dried milkfish samples, from the same retail store as the leftover fish, were collected and tested to determine the occurrence of histamine and histamine-forming bacteria. The levels of pH, aerobic plate count (APC) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) in the leftover dried milkfish sample were significantly higher than those of the other three milkfish samples. None of the tested milkfish samples contained total coliform and Escherichia coli. Although the histamine contents in the three other milkfish samples were less than 5mg/100g, the suspected milkfish sample contained 61.6mg/100g of histamine, which is greater than the hazard action level of 50mg/100g. Given the allergy-like symptoms of the victims and the high histamine content in the suspected milkfish sample, this food-borne poisoning was strongly suspected to be due to histamine intoxication. Four histamine-producing bacterial strains, capable of producing 11.9–1243ppm of histamine in trypticase soy broth supplemented with 1.0% l-histidine (TSBH), were identified as Staphylococcus sciuri subsp. sciuri, Serratia grimesii, Bacillus cereus and Raoultella ornithinolytica, by 16S rDNA sequencing with PCR amplification. R. ornithinolytica was a potent histamine-former capable of producing more than 800ppm of histamine in TSBH in the presence of 1.5% or 3.5% NaCl. Therefore, R. ornithinolytica could be the causative bacterium responsible for the production of high content of histamine that eventually led to this dried milkfish poisoning incident. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]