ABSTRACT
Biogenic amines are undesirable components that result from the proteolytic activity and amino acid decarboxylation activity of undesired contaminating microbial flora present in food which make them of great concern in food hygiene and public health. Practical applications were conducted to determine the prevalence of some biogenic amines in various meat products by measuring the levels of histamine (HIS), tyramine (TYR), Putrescine (PUT), and cadaverine (CAD) in such products, a total of 90 random samples of beef burgers, kofta, and sausage (30 of each) were collected from different markets in Qalyubia governorate and analyzed for biogenic amines by HPLC. The obtained results indicated that the mean values of histamine, tyramine, putrescine, and cadaverine (mg/kg) were 11.05 ± 0.62, 5.81 ± 0.45, 3.95 ± 0.29 and 2.43 ± 0.18 for beef burgers, 14.49 ± 0.87, 9.36 ± 0.73, 6.21 ± 0.37 and 3.91 ± 0.26 for kofta; and 19.71 ± 1.10, 12.97 ± 0.89, 7.88 ± 0.51 and 7.47 ± 0.50 for sausage samples respectively. Accordingly, the permissible limits recommended by EOS (2010), only 10% of beef burgers, 13.33% of kofta, and 20% of sausage samples were unaccepted based on their HIS and TYR levels; while, only one (1.11%) sample of the examined sausage was unaccepted and exceeding the permissible limits of cadaverine.