Snow Crab Histamine Information

Snow Crab, like other forms of seafood, is known to contain certain amounts of histamine due to the process of bacterial breakdown which occurs in protein-rich foods. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, snow crab is considered a moderate to high histamine food. Histamine levels are often highly dependent on the quality and freshness of the seafood. Poor quality, mishandling, or aged seafood, including snow crab, can lead to substantial increases in histamine levels. Histamine is especially prevalent in seafood that has not been properly stored at a suitable temperature. Besides, snow crab falls into the category of invertebrate seafood like mussels and squid which can be histamine liberators. Considering all these factors, it is important to note that anyone with histamine intolerance should be cautious when consuming snow crab and should ensure that the crab is stored, handled, and cooked appropriately to prevent the release of histamines. However, these statements do not consider properties of condiments or additives that might be used in the preparation of the snow crab dish. Different preparations may involve ingredients that either promote or inhibit the release of histamine. The negative effects of consuming high histamine foods can often be countered by consuming foods known to lower histamine. Although there are no specific studies indicating snow crab has this property, foods like fresh vegetables (excluding tomatoes), fresh meat, and certain types of fresh fish are known to have a lowering effect on histamine levels. To end with, while there is general knowledge about the presence of histamine and potential histamine liberators in snow crab, there isn't extensive research specifically on the impact of eating Snow Crab on the histamine level. More studies need to be conducted to draw a concrete conclusion. Our team is working hard on this and the data will be available soon. References: 1. Cadieux, B. (2006). Quantitative Determination of Histamine in Fish and Seafood by LC-UV: Single-Laboratory Validation. Journal of AOAC International, 89(4), 1008-1016. 2. Food - Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2020). Fish and seafood - Canadian Food Inspection Agency. 3. Maintz, Laura, and Natalija Novak. “Histamine and histamine intolerance.” The American journal of clinical nutrition vol. 85,5 (2007): 1185-96. Doi:10.1093/ajcn/85.5.1185 4. Histamine intolerance - Dr. Jockers. (2020). Histamine Intolerance: Understanding the Root Cause. 5. Histamine in food - Histamine Intolerance. (2020). Histamine Intolerance.