Note. Histamine production by some lactic acid bacteria isolated from ciders

Histidine decarboxylase activity has been investigated in 23 strains of lac tic acid bacteria, belonging to Oenococcus oeni, Lactobacillus brevis and L actobacillus spp., isolated during the cidermaking process at different sta ges of fermentation. After 14 days at 25 degrees C on a semisynthetic mediu m supplemented with L-histidine, 13 strains were histamine producers and si x of these strains were selected to study the kinetics of growth and histam ine production at different temperatures. The results showed that histamine accumulation was maximal at 25 degrees C after 10-15 days of growth. Compa rison of growth and histamine level curves demonstrated a delay time of eig ht days between maximal growth and the highest histamine content of the cul tures.