Is brie high in histamine?
Brie is high in histamine: it is a ripened cheese, and ripened cheeses averaged 18.05 mg/kg (pasteurised milk) and 59.37 mg/kg (raw milk) in lab tests, with samples up to 389.86 mg/kg. Brie was not tested on its own.
- Histamine
- Present
- Other amines
- Not measured
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | Pasteurised-milk cheese averaged 18.05 mg/kg (20 samples, up to 162.03); raw-milk cheese 59.37 mg/kg (up to 389.86). Brie was not reported separately. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | All 10 exclude cured, semi-cured and grated cheese. Soft-ripened cheese such as brie is not named separately. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 3 | Lists aged cheese among the foods a low-histamine diet avoids. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheese made from pasteurised milk, Spanish market (group; median 4.59 mg/kg) 1 (Table 1) | 20 | mean 18.05 mg/kg, range nd–162.03 mg/kg | — |
| Cheese made from raw milk, Spanish market (group; median 18.38 mg/kg) 1 (Table 1) | 20 | mean 59.37 mg/kg, range nd–389.86 mg/kg | — |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
Brie goes on ripening after it is cut and while it sits in the fridge, softening from the rind inwards. A 2012 review of dairy foods reports that amines can keep building up in cheese under refrigeration and that they are not spread evenly through a cheese. An overripe, runny brie has had more time; baking it does not remove histamine.
Pasteurised-milk cheese group: mean 18.05 mg/kg, up to 162.03 mg/kg. (measured)
Raw-milk cheese group: mean 59.37 mg/kg, up to 389.86 mg/kg. (measured)
Not measured; histamine is not destroyed by heat. (estimate)
Why we rate brie 3
Brie is a soft cheese, but it is not a fresh one. The curd is moulded, salted and covered with a white mould that grows into the rind, and the cheese ripens from the rind towards the centre for weeks before it is sold, and goes on ripening afterwards. Camembert is made in much the same way. Neither was tested on its own in the Spanish surveys we use, so the rating comes from the ripened-cheese groups.
A University of Barcelona team measured cheese sold in Spain and reported the results in a 2020 review. Brie made from pasteurised milk belongs with the 20 pasteurised-milk cheeses, which averaged 18.05 mg/kg of histamine, with a median of 4.59 mg/kg and a highest sample of 162.03 mg/kg. The traditional Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun are made from raw milk, and the 20 raw-milk cheeses averaged 59.37 mg/kg, with a median of 18.38 mg/kg and a highest sample of 389.86 mg/kg. The 20 unripened cheeses in the same survey had none.
A 2012 review of amines in dairy foods adds three points that apply to a soft-ripened cheese. Pasteurisation lowers amine levels on average but does not rule them out, because some histamine-forming bacteria survive the heat or get in during cheesemaking. Amines can keep building up in cheese kept in the fridge. And amine levels differ between parts of the same cheese, so one slice tells you little about the next. A brie that has turned runny and strong-smelling has had longer to ripen.
The published diets do not name brie. All ten diets in the team's 2021 review exclude cured, semi-cured and grated cheese, and a 2024 clinical review lists aged cheese among the foods to avoid.
We rate brie 3, "high". The pasteurised-milk average is under 20 mg/kg, but samples above 100 mg/kg are documented in both ripened groups, and under our rule a fermented food with samples that high is rated 3. Baked brie keeps its histamine, because heat does not destroy it. On a cheese board or crackers, cream cheese gives a similar soft spread, and mascarpone works in baked dishes where you want something rich and melting.
Questions about brie and histamine
Is brie high in histamine?
We rate it 3. Brie is a ripened cheese, and ripened cheeses averaged 18.05 mg/kg (pasteurised milk) and 59.37 mg/kg (raw milk) in lab tests, with samples up to 389.86 mg/kg. Brie was not tested on its own.
Is camembert the same as brie for histamine?
Camembert is made the same way, as a soft cheese ripened under a white rind, and falls in the same ripened-cheese groups. Neither was tested on its own, so we rate both 3.
Evidence behind this page
- Twenty cheeses made from pasteurised milk averaged 18.05 mg/kg of histamine, with a median of 4.59 mg/kg and a highest sample of 162.03 mg/kg. 1
- Twenty cheeses made from raw milk averaged 59.37 mg/kg, with a median of 18.38 mg/kg and a highest sample of 389.86 mg/kg; 20 unripened cheeses had none detectable. 1
- All ten published low-histamine diets in the 2021 review exclude cured, semi-cured and grated cheese. 2
- Amines can keep rising in refrigerated cheese, and their levels differ between parts of the same cheese. 5
- Pasteurisation lowers amines in cheese on average, but some histamine-forming bacteria survive it or enter during cheesemaking. 5
- Biogenic amines are heat-stable, so heat treatment does not lower them. 2
Sources
- 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)
- 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)
- Jochum C. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond. Nutrients 16(8):1219, 2024. doi:10.3390/nu16081219 (Jochum C 2024)
- 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)
- Linares DM, del Río B, Ladero V, Martínez N, Fernández M, Martín MC, Álvarez MA. Factors Influencing Biogenic Amines Accumulation in Dairy Products. Frontiers in Microbiology 3:180, 2012. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2012.00180 (Linares DM et al. 2012)