Isolation and characterization of histamine-producing bacteria from fermented fish products

Histamine is mainly produced by microorganisms that are found in fermented foods, and is frequently involved in food poisoning. Two histamine-producing bacteria were isolated from fermented fish products, anchovy sauce, and sand lance sauce by using a histidine decarboxylating medium. The species were identified as Bacillus licheniformis A7 and B. coagulans SL5. Multiplex PCR analysis showed the presence of the conserved histidine decarboxylase (hdc) gene in the chromosome of these bacteria. B. licheniformis A7 and B. coagulans SL5 produced the maximum amount of histamine (22.3 +/- 3.5 and 15.1 +/- 1.5 mg/L, respectively). As such, they were determined to be potential histamine-producing bacteria among the tested cultures.