Kokoretsi Histamine Information

Kokoretsi is a popular dish in various parts of the Mediterranean and Southeastern Europe, known for its high organ meat content, typically lamb or goat intestines, heart, lungs, or kidneys. Given the specific ingredients used in the preparation of Kokoretsi, we can infer potential impacts on histamine levels. Generally, offal, the category of meat that includes organ meats such as those used in Kokoretsi, are known to contain higher histamine levels. This is mainly due to these parts' rapid bacterial breakdown attributing to the animal's natural biology, and the length of time processed or aged (1). This indicates that the consumption of Kokoretsi could contribute to elevated histamine levels, especially in individuals with histamine intolerance. Furthermore, smoked meats have a tendency to contain higher histamine levels (2). Given that some variants of Kokoretsi involve grilling, smoking or extensive cooking, which are heat applications that boost histamine levels (3), the dish could potentially increase histamine levels further. However, regarding the potential of histamine liberators or inhibitors in Kokoretsi, the available ingredients appear to not consist of known histamine liberators or those that delay the breakdown of histamine. This could make it less impactful, but still a potential concern for those with histamine intolerance. Finally, no studies have concentrated solely on the dish of Kokoretsi and its effect on histamine levels thus far. Therefore, caution is advised relying entirely on the assumptions made in this explanation. References: 1. Maintz, L., & Novak, N. (2007). Histamine and histamine intolerance. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 85(5), 1185-1196. 2. Özogul, F. (2011). Production of biogenic amines by Morganella morganii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Hafnia alvei using a rapid HPLC method. European food research and technology, 233(3), 447-453. 3. Hammer, L. (2016). Quality of the turkey meat depending on animal's health, farmer's care and chef's skills.