Photobacterium phosphoreum caused a histamine fish poisoning incident

An incident of histamine fish poisoning (HFP) occurred due to the consumption of iwashi maruboshi (dried sardine) in Osaka, Japan in March 2002. A histamine-producing bacterial strain, YS4-7, was isolated from iwashi maruboshi that contained 1700 mg of histamine per kilogram. This strain was identified as Photobacterium phosphoreum by biochemical examinations and partial sequencing of 16S rDNA. R phosphoreum YS4-7 showed greater capability as a histamine producer at 4 and 12 degreesC than Morganella morganii JCM 1672. Strain YS4-7 produced 546 mg of histamine per kilogram in a sardine homogenate stored for 12 h at 20 degreesC. M. morganii, Raoultella planticola and Hafnia alvei have been isolated from fish implicated in HFP incidents, whereas this is the first report of P. phosphoreum being the causative bacterium in a sporadic case of histamine food poisoning. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.