The effect of temperature and length of storage on the formation of biogenic amines and polyamines in the muscle tissue of eviscerated pheasants (Phasianus colchicus)

Biogenic amines are found in a large number of foodstuffs. Ingestion of a large quantity of biogenic amines in food may produce negative toxic symptoms in humans. Biogenic amine concentrations in meat are associated with the proliferation of contaminating microorganisms. An increasing concentration of biogenic amines serves as an indicator of the deteriorating hygiene quality of the meat and as an indicator of meat spoilage during storage. It has been found that the biogenic amines cadaverine, putrescine and tyramine may be considered the main indicators of the hygiene quality of the meat of eviscerated pheasants killed by pithing. From the viewpoint of the concentration of biogenic amines, such pheasants can be stored at a temperature of 0 °C for a period of 14 days, after which time the concentration of biogenic amines in the meat begins to increase. When pheasants are stored at a temperature of 15 °C, the increase in the concentration of biogenic amines begins during the first days of storage. The growth of biogenic amines is greater in leg muscle than in breast muscle. The leg muscle of eviscerated pheasants is, therefore, a food product posing a greater risk from the viewpoint of the content of biogenic amines.