Fact Sheet
When milk causes complaint ...
Histamine intolerance
Around 1% of the Austrian population suffers from one or more of the many faces of so-called
histamine intolerance: Headaches, migraines, breathing difficulties, itchiness or rashes following the
consumption of food rich in histamines can indicate an intolerance. However, hardly anyone knows
what this term actually means.
What is histamine?
Histamine is created in the enzymatic degradation of specific protein components - it is a so-called
"biogenic amine". This degradation process occurs during the ripening of certain foodstuffs. In
general: The longer a product ripens, the higher its histamine content.
Normally, histamine is broken down by an enzyme in the human organism. In sensitive people,
however, high levels of histamine from food can overstrain this mechanism and give rise to the
aforementioned complaints. This is then referred to as a histamine intolerance. From intakes of
around 10 mg of histamine, minor allergic reactions can occur.
Which foods contain histamine?
Those that have been subjected to a ripening process or that are highly perishable are most likely
to contain large amounts: raw sausages, sauerkraut, wine, beer, fish and certain types of cheese.
Particularly in the case of foodstuffs rich in protein, such as milk and cheese, questions are often
raised regarding their significance for people with histamine intolerance. Dairy products
containing high levels of histamine include more mature hard and semi-hard cheeses. The
histamine content here depends on the duration of the ripening process and the type of ripening
culture used in the cheese. Consequently, the fluctuation range in the individual cheese varieties
can be very large.
Would I do better to steer clear of dairy products?
Intolerance to cheese is only very rarely reported in scientific literature. One explanation for this
could be that histamine from cheese is released relatively slowly in the gastrointestinal tract, so the
threshold dose for a histamine effect is higher. Furthermore, not all products should be thrown into
the same "milk churn"
Products low in histamine - and consequently also fit for consumption by people with histamine
intolerance - include milk, buttermilk, sour cream, whipping cream, curd cheese, yoghurt, fresh
cheese and cottage cheese. Often, cheese varieties ripened for a short time are also tolerated quite
well.
Conclusion: People with histamine intolerance need to pay particular attention to their personal
tolerance of individual foodstuffs. However, total abstinence from milk and dairy products is not
necessary; it all depends on what you choose to consume!
© Berglandmilch eGen 2016
Histamine content of various cheese varieties
Values in brackets are maximum values
Mountain cheese:
Beer cheese:
Full-fat cheese:
Camembert, Brie:
Edamer cheese:
Emmental:
Geheimratskäse:
Gouda:
Dutch-style cheese:
Mondseer:
Monte Nero:
Asmonte, Parmesan:
Raclette:
Fine blue cheese:
Tilsiter:
© Berglandmilch eGen 2016
10 - 1200 mg/kg
10 - 80 mg/kg
<10 mg/kg
10 - 300 (600) mg/kg
10 - 150 (500) mg/kg
10 - 500 (2500) mg/kg
<10 mg/kg
10 - 200 (900) mg/kg
10 - 60 mg/kg
10 - 30 mg/kg
approx. 20 mg/kg
10 - 580 mg/kg
10 - 150 mg/kg
approx. 2000 mg/kg
10 - 160 mg/kg