Histamine in Tuna in the Pacific Island Region Tony

Fisheries are of crucial importance to many Pacific Island countries and for several, one of the largest earners of foreign exchange. The most significant fish and fishery products exported from the region are tuna and tuna products, i.e. sashimi, canned tuna and dried tuna. With the introduction of US Seafood HACCP Rule 1995 there is a strong incentive for countries that export seafood products, particularly to North America and Europe, to maintain trade access to these large and extremely valuable markets. Even considering the larger businesses, the degree of HACCP preparation is very limited. SPC and F A 0 have made some efforts to evaluate and commence the development of HACCP in the Pacific Island region. More training, assistance to industry and governments, and research is still needed. Good regional data are not always readily available to justify currently used endpoints or to permit appropriate detection of the hazard. Research is needed to determine the appropriateness and effectiveness of current quality control criteria in reducing the incidence of scrombrotoxin in the Pacific Island region. To this end the University of the South Pacific has refined a highly quantitative chemical test for histamine analysis. A critical review of the USFDA stand on histamine control in tuna reveals that contentious issues exist concerning temperature and time limits, sampling regimes, critical limits and whether to control histamine by a HACCP program or by SSOPs. Recommendations for future research include validation of histamine test kits, regional studies into temperature and time affects on histamine production in fresh tuna and studies on histamine production in tuna jerky products.