Last refresh: · 25,892 refusals since 2020-01-01

Histamine in US Food Imports — FDA Import Refusals

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Histamine appeared in 149 FDA import refusals between 2020 and 2026 — 0.6% of the 25,860 refusals that identify a hazard. The origins cited most often are Senegal, Indonesia, Vietnam. The most-affected product category is Fishery/Seafood Products. Volume in 2025 was up 157% on 2024.

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Histamine notifications by year

YearNotificationsof which border rejectionsYoY
2020 12 12 —
2021 24 24 +100.0%
2022 15 15 -37.5%
2023 13 13 -13.3%
2024 21 21 +61.5%
2025 54 54 +157.1%
2026 10 10 — YTD
Total149

Origins most cited for Histamine

#Origin countryNotifications
1 Senegal 63
2 Indonesia 29
3 Vietnam 15
4 Ecuador 11
5 Mozambique 8
6 Thailand 4
7 Costa Rica 3
8 Brazil 2
9 China 2
10 Malaysia 2
11 Panama 2
12 Philippines 2
13 Yemen 2
14 Guyana 1
15 Morocco 1
16 Sri Lanka 1
17 United Arab Emirates 1

Product categories where Histamine appears

#Product categoryNotifications
1Fishery/Seafood Products149

Recent Histamine notifications

About Histamine

Histamine is charged under Section 402(a)(1) as a poisonous and deleterious substance present in a quantity that ordinarily renders food injurious to health. Unlike most chemical hazards it forms after harvest, when bacteria on poorly chilled fish convert naturally occurring histidine into histamine as the fish spoils — cooking does not reverse it once formed. Refusals in this group are concentrated almost entirely in tuna, mahi-mahi and other dark-fleshed, fast-spoiling fish species, making the charge as much a marker of cold-chain failure as of the product itself.

Which FDA import refusals does this page count?

Every entry FDA refused that cites this hazard among its charge codes. A single entry can carry more than one charge, so an entry refused for both a pathogen and a labelling defect is counted on both the relevant hazard page and, separately, in the hazard/paperwork split shown on the leaderboard.

What happens when this hazard is found in a shipment?

The entry is refused admission into US commerce. The importer must recondition the shipment (where that is possible), export it out of the United States, or have it destroyed under FDA supervision. Repeated findings against one shipper or product can lead FDA to place them on an Import Alert, which subjects future shipments to detention without physical examination.

Where does this data come from?

The public FDA Import Refusal Report, refetched weekly. Counts are per entry (consignment), so one entry listing several charge codes for the same hazard is counted once.