Report of the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) on the risk of food poisoning due to the presence of biogenic amines in meals made from chicken meat consumed by children under 3 years of age

Abstract Biogenic amines are low molecular weight organic bases that come from the enzymatic decarboxylation of amino acids. They are present in many types of food, with the highest concentrations usually found in fish and their derived products, as well as in beverages and fermented foods of plant, meat and dairy origin. In general, the concentration of these amines increases as the hygienic quality decreases, so the presence and levels of biogenic amines provide indirect information on the degree of contamination and on food production, handling and storage practices. Meat and meat products are a group of foods that, due to their high protein content and the high probability of microbial contamination during slaughter and processing processes, favour the formation of biogenic amines that can appear in a wide range of concentrations. A high concentration of one or more biogenic amines suggests high microbial growth and, with it, poor food quality. As a result of the appearance of a number of foodborne outbreaks in nursery schools in Spain, associated with the consumption of chicken meat with the presence of biogenic amines by children under 3 years of age, the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) has assessed the available information on the factors that can influence the appearance of this type of outbreaks; the acceptable levels of biogenic amines in chicken meat; those aspects related to the production of chicken meat that have an influence on the level of biogenic amines; the influence of the expiration time and storage temperature from the time of the slaughter of the chickens and the measures that can minimise the risk in the canteens that use this type of meat when the recipients are children under 3 years of age. The Scientific Committee concludes that, due to its structure and protein composition, chicken meat is, after fish, the most susceptible to developing biogenic amines, with factors such as the use of a raw material of low hygienic quality and inadequate or very long transport and/or storage conditions having an influence on their appearance. There is no consensus on the levels of biogenic amines that could be used as a guide in foods. There are also a number of uncertainties regarding the toxicity of histamine and tyramine, such as the concurrence of both in the same food, or the potentiating effect that the presence of other biogenic amines may have. Therefore, it is difficult to establish safe maximum levels in this population group. The primary production systems of chicken rearing do not seem to have a decisive influence on the levels of biogenic amines in meat. However, meat production and processing systems can have a great influence on the microbiological contamination of carcasses, which is a critical factor for the formation and accumulation of these amines in meat during its conservation and storage. It would be advisable not to use chicken meat with a storage time of more than 5 days after slaughter of the birds in the diet of children under 3 years of age, and that the meat is always kept at a suitable temperature from slaughter (0‐4°C). The effective prevention of the risk from biogenic amines from chicken meat in children's canteens requires a chain of control measures that include a careful selection of raw materials and their proper treatment until their consumption, with special attention to maintaining a suitable refrigeration temperature and storage for a limited time.