After eating fish, my lips feel tingly and I’m getting hives. What is histamine-induced food poisoning?

Food poisoning from histamine occurs when an amino acid called histidine, which is contained in large amounts of red meat fish like marlin, tuna, amberjack, mackerel, and sardine, is turned into large amounts of histamine by histamine-producing bacteria. Symptoms are allergy-like and include facial blushing, hives, headache, and fever, and occur starting immediately after eating fish or processed seafood like dried fish and fish dumplings.
The prevention of histamine-induced food poisoning requires consistent hygiene management, from fishing and processing to distribution, sale, and preparation, including appropriate temperature management at each stage.
As histamine, once generated, cannot be destroyed even through cooking, it is recommended that you only purchase seafood products (such as fresh fish, dried fish, and fish dumplings) which are stored properly at stores you can trust. When buying fresh fish, avoid repeatedly thawing and freezing the fish and do not store the fish in your refrigerator (instead of your freezer) for a long period of time.

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What are histamine-producing bacteria?
There are a large number of histamine-producing bacteria species, and they can be found in ocean waters as well as the digestive tracts of humans and animals. Fish can become contaminated with the bacteria during processing or may already be contaminated at the time they are caught. As histamine-producing bacteria can multiply even in a refrigerator, special care is required.

What species of fish are likely to cause histamine-induced food poisoning?
In recent years, common causes (or suspected causes) of histamine-induced food poisoning in Tokyo include marlin, tuna, amberjack, mackerel, Pacific saury, sardine, and mahi-mahi. It is believed that red meat fish, which contain large amounts of the histamine precursor histidine, are prone to causing histamine-induced food poisoning.

Key points for preventing histamine-induced food poisoning
◆At time of purchase: Buy only the freshest fish.
◆When storing: If you will not be eating the fish immediately, store in your freezer or refrigerator. Repeatedly thawing and freezing the fish, as well as storing it for a long period of time in your refrigerator (instead of a freezer) can cause large amounts of histamine to be produced. Once histamine is generated, it cannot be reduced or eliminated, even with freezing. Do not store the fish you buy for long periods of time and instead eat it as soon as possible.
◆When eating: Once generated, histamine cannot be reduced or destroyed, even though cooking. If you experience tingling or a sensation like your tongue and lips are being poked or stabbed, stop eating immediately.