Blood Sausage Histamine Information

Blood sausage, also known as black pudding, is a type of meat product made mainly from blood, pork fat, and a variety of fillers like barley or oatmeal. Its impact on histamine levels largely depends on the ingredients used and the sausage's preparation process. Generally, cured, fermented, and processed meats have been found to contain high levels of histamine. However, the exact amount may vary based on the length of fermentation and other processes employed during manufacture. Therefore, blood sausage, being a processed meat product, is expected to have a moderate to high histamine content and could potentially affect one's histamine levels when consumed in large quantities. In terms of histamine-liberating effect, it's difficult to establish blood sausage's role specifically because it depends on the type of additives used in its production, which could facilitate the release of histamine in the body. For instance, if preservatives, gelatine, or glutamates — known histamine liberators — are used in the making of the blood sausage, it may indeed result in a stronger histamine response. However, the absence of tomatoes, yeast, vinegar products, and long-aged cheeses - ingredients typically high in histamine - in its preparation might help keep the histamine impact relatively low, depending of course on other factors already mentioned. Finally, it's worth noting that certain spices often used in blood sausage recipes such as pepper and cloves are associated with anti-inflammatory and antihistamine properties. In theory, these could slightly offset any potential increase in histamine levels, but concrete research needed to substantiate this potential beneficial effect is lacking. To cull meaningful insights, it would be ideal to consider the individual ingredients used in the blood sausage. However due to the wide variety of recipes and preparation methods worldwide, it may be difficult to establish an universally applicable conclusion about the impact of blood sausage on histamine levels. References: 1. Maintz, Laura, and Natalija Novak. “Histamine and histamine intolerance.” The American journal of clinical nutrition, vol. 85,no. 5, 2007, pp. 1185–1196. 2. Kovacova-Hanuskova, E., et al. “Histamine, histamine intoxication and intolerance.” Allergologia et immunopathologia, vol. 43, no.5, 2015, pp. 498–506. 3. Vlieg-Boerstra, B.J., et al. “Dietary assessment of intolerances to biogenic amines – a pilot study.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 104, no. 8, 2004, pp. 1259–1262.