Is cream cheese high in histamine?
Cream cheese is low in histamine: it is a fresh, unripened cheese, and 20 unripened cheeses tested in Spain had none detectable. Cream cheese itself was not tested separately.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- 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 | No detectable histamine in 20 unripened cheeses; cream cheese was not reported separately. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | The review's chart has no bar for fresh cheese; its cheese bar, cured, semi-cured and grated cheese, is excluded by all 10. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 3 | Names aged cheese, not fresh 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unripened cheese, Spanish market (group) 1 (Table 1) | 20 | not detected | not reported |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
Cream cheese is soured and drained but not aged, and the unripened cheeses were tested as bought. A tub left open in the fridge for a long time was not measured; a 2012 review of dairy foods notes that amines can still build up in refrigerated cheese, more slowly than when warm. Cheesecake and frosting made ahead are stored dishes, and histamine that forms during storage survives baking and reheating.
Unripened cheese group: none detected in 20 samples. (measured)
Not measured; bacteria keep working slowly in the cold. (estimate)
Not measured; a stored dish gives bacteria time, and baking does not remove histamine. (estimate)
Why we rate cream cheese 0
Cream cheese is a fresh cheese. Milk and cream are soured with lactic acid bacteria, the curd is drained and smoothed, and the tub goes on sale without the ripening stage that gives aged cheese its histamine. That is the basis for rating it low.
There is no measurement for cream cheese itself in the studies we use. A University of Barcelona team tested 20 unripened cheeses sold in Spain, and none had detectable histamine. Their 2020 review does not name the cheeses in the group and does not report other amines for it, so we place cream cheese there because of how it is made. Ripened cheese is a different picture: cheese made from pasteurised milk averaged 18.05 mg/kg, with a median of 4.59 mg/kg, and cheese made from raw milk averaged 59.37 mg/kg.
Being sour does not make a food high in histamine. Plain yogurt is also made with lactic acid bacteria, and five yogurts tested in Spain had none. The team's 2021 review explains that in fermented foods, histamine depends on the hygiene of the milk and the process, and on whether the bacteria used can make histamine at all.
The published diets do not single out fresh cheese. All ten diets in the 2021 review exclude cured, semi-cured and grated cheese, but fresh cheese has no bar on their chart, and a 2024 clinical review names aged cheese, not fresh, among the foods to avoid.
We rate cream cheese 0, "low". The rating is for a freshly opened pack. A tub that sits open in the fridge for weeks was not measured, and a 2012 review of dairy foods notes that amines can still build up in cheese under refrigeration, so buy small tubs if you use it slowly. Flavoured spreads take on the rating of what has been added, such as smoked salmon or herbs. On crackers or in a sandwich, cream cheese is a practical swap for brie or a ripened goat cheese.
Questions about cream cheese and histamine
Is cream cheese low histamine?
Cream cheese is a fresh, unripened cheese, and 20 unripened cheeses tested in Spain had no detectable histamine, so we rate it 0. It was not tested on its own, and an open tub kept for a long time was not measured.
Is cheesecake high in histamine?
Cheesecake was not measured. Cream cheese is rated low, but a cheesecake made ahead and kept for days is a stored dish, and histamine that forms during storage is not removed by baking, so we rate it 1 as an estimate.
Evidence behind this page
- Twenty unripened cheeses sold in Spain had no detectable histamine. 1
- Cheese made from pasteurised milk averaged 18.05 mg/kg of histamine (median 4.59 mg/kg) and cheese made from raw milk 59.37 mg/kg. 1
- Five plain yogurts, also made with lactic acid bacteria, had no detectable histamine. 2
- In fermented foods, histamine depends on the hygiene of raw materials and processing and on whether the bacteria used can make it. 2
- Amines can still rise in cheese kept in the fridge; low temperatures slow the increase. 5
- Biogenic amines are heat-stable, so heat treatment does not lower them. 26
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)
- 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)