Is bone broth high in histamine?

Why we rate bone broth 2

Bone broth is often described as high in histamine because of its long cooking time. None of the studies we use measured histamine in bone broth or stock, and it does not appear on the 2021 review's chart of foods excluded by ten published low-histamine diets. So this page rates it from how it is made and stored, and says only what the sources support.

Long cooking on its own is not what makes histamine. Histamine in food is made mainly by bacteria from the amino acid histidine. A 2018 review explains that amines are heat-stable, so cooking changes the amount in a food only by moving amines into the cooking water or by concentrating or diluting the food as it loses or gains water. Two things follow for broth. Any histamine that was in the bones and meat ends up in the liquid rather than being destroyed. And as a broth simmers for hours and reduces, whatever amines it holds are concentrated into less liquid. If the bones were fresh, there is little to concentrate: fresh meat had no detectable histamine in 199 samples in the Spanish survey we use, and cooked meat products averaged 0.30 mg/kg across 48 samples.

The bigger factor is time on either side of the pot. Bones are often saved in the fridge or freezer until there are enough for a batch, and a large pot of broth cools slowly and is then kept in the fridge and used over a week. The 2018 review notes that amines can form at fridge temperatures, more slowly than in warmer conditions, and reheating does not remove them. A 2020 review lists meat products that have been kept or processed without proper hygiene among the foods that can contain high histamine. Shop-bought broth in cartons or jars has a history you cannot see.

We rate bone broth 2, "moderate", as an estimate, because that is how it is usually made and kept. A broth made from fresh bones and drunk the same day, or frozen in portions as soon as it has cooled, is closer to fresh meat, and we rate it 1. If you want a soup base with less uncertainty, a quick soup of fresh chicken, cooked and eaten the same day, is covered by the fresh meat measurement. Chicken stock and beef stock follow the same rules as bone broth.

Questions about bone broth and histamine

Is bone broth low histamine?

It was not measured in the studies we use. We rate it 2 as an estimate, because broth is usually made in big batches and kept for days, and histamine that forms during storage survives reheating. Broth made from fresh bones and frozen in portions as soon as it has cooled rates 1.

Does long cooking make bone broth high in histamine?

Not by itself. Histamine is formed mainly by bacteria, and amines are heat-stable: cooking changes their level only by moving them into the cooking water or by concentrating the food as water boils off. Long simmering concentrates whatever was already there; storage before and after cooking matters more.

Is chicken broth high in histamine?

Chicken broth was not measured either, so the same estimate applies: 2 for broth kept in the fridge for days or bought ready-made, and 1 for broth made from fresh chicken and eaten or frozen the day it is made.

Evidence behind this page

• None of the studies we use measured histamine in bone broth or stock, and it is not on the 2021 review's chart of foods excluded by ten published low-histamine diets. ¹
• Histamine in food is formed mainly by bacteria from the amino acid histidine. ¹³
• Amines are heat-stable; cooking changes their level only by transfer into the cooking water or by dilution or concentration as the food gains or loses water. ²
• Fresh meat sold in Spain had no detectable histamine across 199 samples, and cooked meat products averaged 0.30 mg/kg across 48 samples. ¹³
• Refrigeration delays amine formation, but amines have been reported to form at fridge temperatures (4–10 °C). ²
• Meat, fish and derived products that have been kept or processed without proper hygiene are among the foods that can contain high levels of histamine. ³

Sources

1. Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
2. Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Rabell-González J, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Biogenic Amines in Plant-Origin Foods: Are They Frequently Underestimated in Low-Histamine Diets? Foods 7(12):205, 2018. doi:10.3390/foods7120205 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2018)
3. Comas-Basté O, Sánchez-Pérez S, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou MDC. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art. Biomolecules 10(8):1181, 2020. doi:10.3390/biom10081181 (Comas-Basté O et al. 2020)
4. Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)