Is sauerkraut high in histamine?
Sauerkraut is high in histamine: five samples averaged 43.74 mg/kg and reached 80.12, and it carried more putrescine than any other food in the survey. Seven of ten published diets exclude it.
- 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 | Histamine in all 5 samples, from 7.36 to 80.12 mg/kg (average 43.74). |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 1 | 7 of 10 exclude sauerkraut. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 2 | Fermented cabbage is among the foods excluded by more than 60% of published diets. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sauerkraut sold in Spain 1 (Table 1) | 5 | mean 43.74 mg/kg, range 7.36–80.12 mg/kg, 95th percentile 76.48 mg/kg | putrescine mean 232.66 mg/kg; cadaverine mean 76.49 mg/kg; tyramine mean 43.47 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 sauerkraut forms during fermentation, so every jar has had time to build it up, and the amount varies widely: five samples ranged from 7.36 to 80.12 mg/kg. Heat does not destroy histamine, so cooked or pasteurised sauerkraut keeps what formed before.
Averaged 43.74 mg/kg across 5 samples. (measured)
Histamine is heat-stable, so cooking keeps it. (estimate)
Why we rate sauerkraut 3
Sauerkraut is the vegetable to take most seriously on a low-histamine diet, and the reason is fermentation, not the cabbage. A University of Barcelona team tested five samples of sauerkraut sold in Spain. Every one contained histamine, from 7.36 to 80.12 mg/kg, and the average was 43.74 mg/kg, higher than spinach (31.77 mg/kg) and above cured cheese (33.10 mg/kg).
The other amines were higher still. Putrescine averaged 232.66 mg/kg, the highest average of any food in the team's 2021 table, well above oranges or cured sausages. Cadaverine averaged 76.49 mg/kg and tyramine 43.47 mg/kg. Whether these amines worsen histamine symptoms in people has not been shown, but in sauerkraut they come on top of a high histamine level, not instead of one.
The team's 2021 review explains where this comes from. In fermented foods, histamine depends on the hygiene of the raw materials and processing and on whether the bacteria doing the fermenting can make histamine. That is also why the five samples ranged so widely: the lowest had less than a tenth of the highest. You cannot tell from the jar which kind you have.
The published diets agree. Seven of the ten diets in the 2021 review exclude sauerkraut, and a 2020 review from the same group found that more than 60% of diets exclude fermented cabbage.
We rate sauerkraut 3, "high". Cooking does not help, because histamine is heat-stable, so sauerkraut cooked into a stew or bought pasteurised keeps what formed during fermentation. For crunch and sharpness in a salad or sandwich, fresh cucumber or grated carrot are lower-rated swaps; both had no detectable histamine. Fresh cabbage has not been measured for histamine in our sources, so we do not rate it yet.
Questions about sauerkraut and histamine
Is kimchi high in histamine?
Kimchi was not measured in the studies we use, so we do not rate it. It is also a fermented vegetable, and the sauerkraut figures are the closest data we have.
Is fresh cabbage high in histamine?
It has not been measured: the studies we use report only putrescine in fresh cabbage, not histamine. We estimate fresh cabbage mostly low on its own page. The histamine in sauerkraut forms during fermentation.
Evidence behind this page
- Five sauerkraut samples sold in Spain averaged 43.74 mg/kg of histamine (7.36–80.12), with putrescine averaging 232.66 mg/kg, cadaverine 76.49 mg/kg and tyramine 43.47 mg/kg. 1
- In fermented foods, histamine depends on the hygiene of the raw materials and processing and on the histamine-making capacity of the bacteria used. 1
- Seven of ten published low-histamine diets exclude sauerkraut, and more than 60% of diets in an earlier review exclude fermented cabbage. 12
- Biogenic amines are heat-stable. 14
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)
- 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)