Is cream high in histamine?
Fresh cream is likely low in histamine: it was not measured, but it is the unfermented fat of milk, and milk had no detectable histamine or other amines in lab tests. Cream that has turned sour is a different matter.
- Histamine
- Not measured
- 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 of milk, Spain 1 | Measured | Cream was not measured. Five milks had no detectable histamine or other biogenic amines. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 1 | Cream is not on the review's chart of excluded foods; milk is excluded by 1 of 10. | |
| SIGHI food list 2 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Fresh cream is the low-risk form. Cream that has soured or thickened in the fridge has had bacteria growing in it, and spoiled foods are the ones the 2021 review names as likely to build up histamine; it was not measured. Cream sauces and desserts kept for days are stored dishes, and histamine survives reheating.
Not measured; unfermented, like the milk it comes from. (estimate)
Not measured; heat-treated and sealed, not fermented. (estimate)
Not measured; spoilage bacteria have had time to grow. (estimate)
Why we rate cream 0
Cream was not measured in the studies we use. It is the fat-rich part of milk, separated and pasteurised, and fresh cream is neither fermented nor ripened. That is the basis for rating it low, as an estimate.
Milk is the closest measured food. A University of Barcelona team tested five milks sold in Spain and found no histamine and none of the five other amines they measured. Their reviews explain that histamine in food is made by bacteria acting on the amino acid histidine, and that the foods likely to build it up are fermented ones and ones altered by spoilage bacteria. The dairy figures follow that rule: 20 unripened cheeses had no detectable histamine, while ripened cheeses averaged 18.05 mg/kg when made from pasteurised milk and 59.37 mg/kg from raw milk.
Cream's risk is the same as milk's: age. Cream that has turned sour or thick in the fridge has had bacteria growing in it. That was not measured, but it is the situation the 2021 review describes as likely to produce histamine, so we rate cream past its best 2 as an estimate and suggest not using it. Sour cream and crème fraîche are made by souring cream on purpose with lactic acid bacteria and have their own page. Long-life (UHT) cream and aerosol whipped cream are heat-treated more strongly and sealed; neither was measured, and we see no reason to rate them differently from fresh cream.
Cream is not on the chart of foods excluded by the ten low-histamine diets in the 2021 review, and milk, the closest food on it, is excluded by one of the ten.
We rate fresh cream 0, "low". Much of the cream we eat goes into dishes that are kept, such as a cream sauce, a quiche or a trifle made ahead, and histamine that forms while a dish sits in the fridge survives reheating. Make cream sauces fresh where you can. In a pasta sauce, a splash of cream also stands in for some of the grated aged cheese that recipes often call for.
Questions about cream and histamine
Is heavy cream low histamine?
Heavy (double) cream was not measured, but it is the unfermented fat of milk, and milk had no detectable histamine, so we rate fresh cream 0 as an estimate. Cream that has started to sour is a different matter.
Is ice cream high in histamine?
Ice cream was not measured. Plain ice cream is made from milk, cream and sugar, but flavourings such as chocolate, strawberry or nuts are rated separately, so check those too.
Evidence behind this page
- Five milks sold in Spain had no detectable histamine, putrescine, cadaverine, tyramine, spermidine or spermine. 1
- Foods likely to accumulate histamine are those altered by spoilage bacteria and fermented foods. 13
- Twenty unripened cheeses had no detectable histamine, while ripened cheeses averaged 18.05 mg/kg (pasteurised milk) and 59.37 mg/kg (raw milk). 3
- Biogenic amines are heat-stable, so heat treatment does not lower them. 1
- Cream is not on the 2021 review's chart of foods excluded by ten low-histamine diets; one of the ten excludes milk. 1
Sources
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)