Evaluación del contenido de histamina en atún (Thunnus sp) "in natura" y en sashimi procesado a partir de esta materia prima

With the purpose of assessing the histamine contents in tuna fish (Thunnus sp) "in nature", received in a restaurant located at Niteroi city, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and the formation of this compound in sashimi elaborated from this raw material, 123 samples were analyzed by thin layer chromatogra­phy, 30 samples were collected in January, 37 in February and 56 from August until November The results obtained for the samples analyzed during January showed contents between 0,0 and 5,0 mg/ 100 g, both ',pon receipt of the specimen and in the product already elaborated and exposed in the cooled counter. For the samples analyzed during the months of February, the results ranged from 0,0 to 5,0 mg of histamine by 100 g of sample, and the content showed for the elaborated product in the same previous conditions obtained lower values for some samples, showing that the histamine formation is not even in muscular tissue. All samples analyzed during the months comprised from August through November did not indicate presence of histamine. It can be concluded that the product manufacturing and storage were good and did not increased the levels of the toxin.