Abstract

Biogenic amines are biologically active, nitrogen based, low molecular mass substances and they consider as quality and toxicity indicators of foods. The amount of biogenic amines indicates also the freshness of the food products. These compounds form during production or storage of protein rich foods under unhygienic conditions. These amines are usually formed in protein rich foods by the act of microorganisms which has decarboxylase activity under inappropriate technological processing conditions especially while fermentation processes. Cheese, yogurt, kefir are among the most consumed fermented foods. Since these products are much consumed food products, the analysis of biogenic amines in them is very important in terms of consumer health and product quality. Biogenic amines taken in high amounts are known to cause headache, nausea and more serious food poisoning. There are studies both abroad and in our country on cheese varieties where biogenic amine formation is frequently observed. However, there is no study conducted in the Hatay region, which is extremely rich in terms of cheese varieties. Within the scope of this study, biogenic amine analyzes were performed on 20 cheese samples produced and consumed in the Hatay region after they were kept in the refrigerator at 4 ºC for 30 days. Total biogenic amine concentrations were determined between 57.00–432.41 mg kg-1. The samples with the highest total biogenic amine concentrations were blue-veined cheese (432.41 mg kg-1) and moldy cheese (314.45 mg kg-1). Total biogenic amine concentrations were the lowest in aged cheddar cheese (57.00 mg kg-1) and knitted cheese (97.57 mg kg-1). All of the biogenic amines (spermidine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tryptamine, tyramine, phenylethyl amine) were detected in all cheese samples examined.