Today, food safety and quality are some of the main concerns of consumer and health agencies around the world. Our current lifestyle and market globalization have led to an increase in the number of people affected by food poisoning. Foodborne illness and food poisoning have different origins (bacteria, virus, parasites, mold, contaminants, etc.), and some cases of food poisoning can be traced back to chemical and natural toxins. One of the toxins targeted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the biogenic amine histamine. Biogenic amines (BAs) in food constitute a potential public health concern due to their physiological and toxicological effects. The consumption of foods containing high concentrations of biogenic amines has been associated with health hazards. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of food poisoning cases associated with BAs in food, mainly in relation to histamines in fish. We need to gain a better understanding of the origin of foodborne disease and how to control it if we expect to keep people from getting ill. Biogenic amines are found in varying concentrations in a wide range of foods (fish, cheese, meat, wine, beer, vegetables, etc.), and BA formation is influenced by different factors associated with the raw material making up food products, microorganisms, processing, and conservation conditions. Moreover, BAs are thermostable. Biogenic amines also play an important role as indicators of food quality and/or acceptability. Hence, BAs need to be controlled in order to ensure high levels of food quality and safety. All of these aspects will be addressed in this review.

It has been recognized for some time that biogenic amines occur in a wide range of foods, among them meat and meat products. Meat is an important component of the diet in developed countries. The presence of these amines in food is of interest for two reasons: firstly, for toxicological reasons, in the sense that high levels of dietary biogenic amines can be toxic for certain consumers, and secondly, for their role as possible quality indicators. Based on these two premises, the present article offers a new analysis on aspects of toxicology and on the use of biogenic amines as a quality control method, as well as on their presence in meat and meat products. The article focuses particularly on factors affecting the production of biogenic amines, with reference to various parameters relating to microorganisms, meat raw materials, and processing conditions. A better understanding of the factors determining their formation (i.e., microorganisms, raw materials used, and technological processes applied) and their effects could lead to ways of controlling their production, limiting their presence in the end product, and hence, rendering them less toxic.

This paper studies the changes that occur in free amino acid and biogenic amine contents of raw meats (beef, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey) during storage (2 °C, 10 days). The meat cuts samples were harvested from a retail outlet (without getting information on the animals involved) as the following: Beef leg (four muscles), pork leg (five muscles), lamb leg (seven muscles), turkey leg (four muscles), and chicken breast (one muscle). Meat composition varied according to meat types. In general, pH, microbiology counts, biogenic amine (BA), and free amino acid (FAA) contents were also affected by meat types and storage time (p < 0.05). Chicken and turkey presented the highest levels (p < 0.05) of FAAs. Total free amino acids (TFAA) were higher (p < 0.05) in white meats than in red ones. The behavior pattern, of the total free amino acids precursors (TFAAP) of Bas, was saw-toothed, mainly in chicken and turkey meat during storage, which limits their use as quality indexes. Spermidine and spermine contents were initially different among the meats. Putrescine was the most prevalent BA (p < 0.05) irrespective of species. In general, chicken and turkey contained the highest (p < 0.05) levels of BAs, and TFAAP of BAs. In terms of the biogenic amine index (BAI), the quality of chicken was the worst while beef meat was the only sample whose quality remained acceptable through the study. This BAI seems to be more suitable as a quality index for white meat freshness than for red meat, especially for beef.