Is miso high in histamine?
Miso is likely high in histamine: it was measured only within fermented soy products, which averaged 73.95 mg/kg, the highest of any food group tested. Miso soup dilutes the paste but does not remove the histamine.
- Histamine
- Varies by sample
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
Why sources disagree. Fermented soy had the highest average histamine of any food group in the survey we use, but only four of ten published diets exclude it. We follow the measurements.
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain (food group) 1 | Measured | Soy-fermented products averaged 73.95 mg/kg of histamine in 21 samples; the highest reached 730.06 mg/kg. Miso was not reported on its own. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 1 | 4 of 10 exclude soy-fermented products. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 2 | Fermented soy derivatives are excluded by 20–60% of the diets it compared. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 3 | Lists fermented soybean products among 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soy-fermented products sold in Spain (group) 1 (Table 1, row 'Soy-fermented products') | 21 | mean 73.95 mg/kg, range nd–730.06 mg/kg, 95th percentile 486.31 mg/kg | tyramine mean 187.24 mg/kg (up to 1730.17); putrescine mean 13.48 mg/kg; cadaverine mean 6.88 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
Histamine in miso forms during fermentation, before the tub reaches you, and heat does not destroy it, so stirring miso into hot soup or cooking it in a glaze leaves it in place. Keep an opened tub in the fridge, but do not expect storage to make it any lower.
Not measured on its own; the studies did not separate kinds of miso. (estimate)
Not measured. Diluted in broth, but heat does not remove histamine from the paste. (estimate)
Not measured; the paste is the main flavouring. (estimate)
Why we rate miso 3
Miso is a salty paste of soybeans fermented with a grain, usually rice or barley. Like tempeh, it has not been measured on its own in the studies we use. It falls in a group that a University of Barcelona team did measure: 21 samples of soy-fermented products sold in Spain, reported together in their 2021 table without a breakdown by product.
That group had the highest histamine in the table. The average was 73.95 mg/kg, against 43.74 mg/kg for sauerkraut and 33.10 mg/kg for cured cheese. Some samples had none, but 5% were above 486.31 mg/kg and the highest was 730.06 mg/kg. Tyramine averaged 187.24 mg/kg and putrescine 13.48 mg/kg. Plain soybeans from the same survey had no histamine, so the difference is the fermentation, not the soy.
The review's explanation for the spread applies directly to miso. Histamine in fermented foods depends on the hygiene of the ingredients and the process and on whether the fermenting bacteria can make histamine. Light (white) and dark (red) miso differ in recipe and fermentation time, but the paper does not separate them, so we cannot say that one is safer than the other.
We rate miso 3, "high". It is marked disputed because only four of the ten published diets in the 2021 review exclude soy-fermented products, and an earlier review from the same group put fermented soy among foods excluded by 20–60% of diets. A 2024 clinical review lists fermented soybean products among foods to avoid. The rating comes from the group figure and would be revisited if miso itself were measured.
Miso soup is the form most people eat. A bowl is mostly broth, which dilutes the paste, but nothing removes the histamine already in it, heat does not break it down, and nobody has measured the soup. We rate it 3 as an estimate. If you want the shape of the dish, a clear broth with fresh tofu, which had no detectable histamine, is the nearest swap, though nothing unfermented gives miso's depth. Soy sauce is a separate fermented soy product with its own page.
Questions about miso and histamine
Is miso soup high in histamine?
It was not measured. Miso paste falls in the fermented soy group, which averaged 73.95 mg/kg of histamine. Soup dilutes the paste but heat does not remove histamine, so we rate miso soup 3 as an estimate.
Is white miso lower in histamine than red miso?
We do not know. The study we use reports fermented soy products as one group and does not separate kinds of miso.
Evidence behind this page
- Soy-fermented products sold in Spain averaged 73.95 mg/kg of histamine (21 samples), with 5% above 486.31 mg/kg and a maximum of 730.06 mg/kg; tyramine averaged 187.24 mg/kg and putrescine 13.48 mg/kg. 1
- In fermented foods, histamine depends on the hygiene of the raw materials and processing and on the histamine-forming capacity of the fermenting bacteria. 1
- Plain soybeans sold in Spain had no detectable histamine (5 samples). 1
- Four of ten published low-histamine diets exclude soy-fermented products; an earlier review found 20–60% of diets exclude fermented soy derivatives. 12
- A 2024 clinical review lists fermented soybean products among the foods a low-histamine diet avoids. 3
- Biogenic amines are heat-stable. 51
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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)