Is tofu high in histamine?
Tofu is low in histamine: six samples tested in Spain had none, and other amines were low. Fermented tofu and tofu kept open for days are different, and the published diets rarely name tofu at all.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Low
- 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 or tyramine in 6 samples; putrescine averaged 0.76 mg/kg. |
| Other studies in the 2018 review 1 | Putrescine up to 5 mg/kg in 19 samples and none in 4; one study of 2 samples found cadaverine at 18.4 mg/kg. No histamine reported. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets (2021 review) 2 | Tofu has no bar on the chart; soybeans are excluded by 1 of 10 and soy-fermented products by 4. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tofu sold in Spain 1 (Table 1, row 'Tofu') | 6 | not detected | putrescine mean 0.76 mg/kg (nd–1.49); cadaverine mean 0.67 mg/kg (nd–1.42); tyramine not detected |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
Tofu is a fresh, perishable food. None of our sources followed amines in stored tofu, but histamine forms as protein foods are kept and is not removed by cooking, so once a pack is open, keep it covered in the fridge and use it within a day or two. Fermented tofu is a different product.
No histamine in 6 samples; the paper does not say which kinds. (measured)
Not measured; marinades often contain soy sauce, which is fermented. (estimate)
Not measured; storage gives bacteria time to act. (estimate)
Not measured; a fermented soy product, the group with the most histamine in our sources. (estimate)
Why we rate tofu 0
Tofu is soybean curd, made by curdling soy milk and pressing it, and it carries little of the amines that make soybeans themselves a borderline food. A University of Barcelona team tested six tofu samples sold in Spain. None had histamine or tyramine. Putrescine averaged 0.76 mg/kg and cadaverine 0.67 mg/kg, both far lower than in the soybeans the same team measured, where putrescine averaged 19.07 mg/kg and cadaverine 9.04 mg/kg.
Other studies in the team's 2018 review agree on the low putrescine. One tested 19 samples and found an average of 2.6 mg/kg, and another found none in four. One study of only two samples, by Nishimura and colleagues, reported cadaverine at 18.4 mg/kg. The review singles that figure out as an exception, since average cadaverine in the vegetables and legumes it covered otherwise never exceeded 8 mg/kg. As with onion, where the same study is the odd one out, we rate from the larger body of data.
The published diets rarely mention tofu by name. The 2021 review's chart of foods excluded by ten low-histamine diets has a bar for soybeans, excluded by one of the ten, and one for soy-fermented products, excluded by four, but none for tofu. Plain tofu is not fermented, so the high figures for fermented soy do not apply to it.
We rate tofu 0, "low". The paper does not say whether the samples were silken or firm, so the rating covers plain tofu in general. Flavoured kinds are less certain: smoked and marinated tofu were not measured, and marinades often include soy sauce, which is fermented. Fermented tofu, sold as furu or stinky tofu, belongs with miso and tempeh, and we rate it 3 as an estimate.
Plain tofu is also the obvious swap for tempeh in a stir-fry, curry or sandwich, and pressed firm tofu comes closest to its texture. Once a pack is opened, use it within a day or two rather than keeping it in water in the fridge for a week.
Questions about tofu and histamine
Is tofu low histamine?
Yes, plain tofu is. Six samples tested in Spain had no detectable histamine and very little of other amines. Fermented tofu is a different product and is likely high.
Is silken tofu different from firm tofu for histamine?
The studies we use do not separate them. Both are plain, unfermented soybean curd, and we rate both 0.
Evidence behind this page
- Six tofu samples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine or tyramine; putrescine averaged 0.76 mg/kg and cadaverine 0.67 mg/kg. 1
- Other studies found tofu putrescine averaging 2.6 mg/kg (19 samples, nd–5) and none in 4 samples; one study of 2 samples reported cadaverine at 18.4 mg/kg, which the review describes as an exception. 1
- Soybeans sold in Spain averaged 19.07 mg/kg of putrescine; soy-fermented products averaged 73.95 mg/kg of histamine. 2
- One of ten published low-histamine diets excludes soybeans and four exclude soy-fermented products; tofu is not charted separately. 2
Sources
- 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)
- 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)