Is cheddar high in histamine?
Cheddar is high in histamine: it is a ripened cheese, and in lab tests ripened cheeses averaged 18.05 to 59.37 mg/kg depending on the milk, with samples up to 389.86 mg/kg. Cheddar was not tested on its own in those surveys.
- Histamine
- Present
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- 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); cured and grated cheese 33.10 mg/kg (80 samples). Cheddar was not reported separately. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | All 10 exclude cured, semi-cured and grated cheese. | |
| 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 | — |
| Cured, semi-cured and grated cheese, Spanish market (group) 2 (Table 1) | 80 | mean 33.1 mg/kg, range nd–389.86 mg/kg, 95th percentile 203.3 mg/kg | tyramine mean 128 mg/kg (up to 1567.50); putrescine mean 68.90 mg/kg; cadaverine mean 87.25 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
Cheddar's histamine comes from ripening, and a 2012 review of dairy foods reports that, in general, the longer a cheese ripens the more amines it holds. Warm storage raises amines and cold storage slows them without stopping them. The same review links grating to more histamine in some cheeses, which is worth knowing for bags of shredded cheddar. Melting does not lower histamine.
Cured cheese group: mean 33.10 mg/kg, 5% above 203.30 mg/kg. (measured)
Shorter ripening generally means fewer amines, but no study we use measured mild cheddar. (estimate)
Not measured separately; grating has been linked to more histamine in some cheeses. (estimate)
Why we rate cheddar 3
Cheddar is a ripened cheese, and ripening is where cheese gets its histamine. The curd is cut, stacked, milled, pressed into blocks and left to mature, briefly for a mild cheddar and much longer for a mature or vintage one. Cheddar was not tested on its own in the Spanish surveys we use, so the rating comes from the groups it belongs to.
Cheddar made from pasteurised milk belongs with the pasteurised-milk group in a University of Barcelona survey of cheese sold in Spain, reported in a 2020 review: 20 such cheeses averaged 18.05 mg/kg of histamine. The median was 4.59 mg/kg and the highest sample 162.03 mg/kg, so most were moderate and a few were high. The team's 2021 survey of 80 cured, semi-cured and grated cheeses, the group a long-matured block belongs to, averaged 33.10 mg/kg, with one sample in twenty above 203.30 mg/kg. Farmhouse cheddars made from raw milk sit with the raw-milk group, which averaged 59.37 mg/kg.
Age matters. A 2012 review of amines in dairy foods reports that, in general, the longer a cheese ripens, the more amines it holds, with the highest histamine usually found in long-ripened cheeses. Pasteurisation lowers amines on average but does not rule them out, because some histamine-forming bacteria survive the heat or get in during cheesemaking. The review also describes cheeses whose histamine rose after grating, which matters for bags of shredded cheddar.
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 cheddar 3, "high". Even the pasteurised-milk group, with its lower average, had a sample above 100 mg/kg, and under our rule a fermented food with documented samples that high is rated 3. A young, mild cheddar is likely to be lower than a vintage one, but no study we use measured the difference, so we rate it 2 as an estimate rather than calling it safe. For a toastie, a burger or a pizza, mozzarella melts in much the same way; in a cold sandwich or on a baked potato, cream cheese or cottage cheese does the job.
Questions about cheddar and histamine
Is mild cheddar lower in histamine than mature cheddar?
Probably, but the studies we use did not measure the difference. A 2012 review reports that cheese generally holds more amines the longer it ripens. We rate mild cheddar 2 and mature cheddar 3 until there are measurements.
Is mac and cheese high in histamine?
If it is made with cheddar or another aged cheese, yes: the cheese keeps its histamine when it is melted and baked. A sauce made with mozzarella or cream cheese avoids the aged cheese, though the dish itself was not measured.
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
- Eighty cured, semi-cured and grated cheeses averaged 33.10 mg/kg; 5% were above 203.30 mg/kg. 2
- Twenty cheeses made from raw milk averaged 59.37 mg/kg of histamine. 1
- All ten published low-histamine diets in the 2021 review exclude cured, semi-cured and grated cheese. 2
- In general, the longer a cheese ripens, the more biogenic amines it contains; pasteurisation lowers amines on average, but some histamine-forming bacteria survive it or enter during cheesemaking. 5
- In some cheeses, histamine-forming bacteria and histamine increased after grating. 5
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)