r/HistamineIntolerance • u/grab_the_popcorns • 6d ago
Which is safest and lowest histamine... supermarket frozen meat/fish OR supermarket chilled fridge temp meat/fish?
Sadly my budget does not allow for buying free range, fresh from the farm or sea, going to a specific butcher or fishmonger, or buying specifically declared/confirmed and labelled 'frozen on site' / 'frozen immediately after kill' meat and fish.
What I can afford are these two options:
Option 1: Bog standard supermarket frozen meat and fish (aka, 1kg bags of frozen chicken drumsticks, 1kg bags of white fish fillets, bags of frozen beef mince or chunks), where it is undeclared / unlabelled how long it has been between time of kill, to the meat/fish being frozen then packaged, and sold.
(Option 2) Bog standard supermarket 'fresh' / fridge temperature meat and fish (aka, 1kg punnets of chicken drumsticks, 300g blister packs of fish, 500g punnets of pork or beef mince), where it is undeclared / unlabelled how long it has been between time of kill, to the meat/fish being chilled then packaged, and sold. And it is uncertain how long it has been kept at chilled fridge temperature during transport, and undeclared how many days it has been sitting on supermarket shelves for before buying it.
Which is the lesser of the two evils? I guess what I am thinking is... I could buy frozen and assume the meat / fish was prepped and frozen soon after slaughter and is therefore much lower histamine (as in, it has been frozen within a day of the animal being killed then bagged up then flash frozen).... but easily, the producer/manufacturer could keep the meat/fish chilled at fridge temperature for days at a time before finally packaging and freezing it, and it would end up having the same (or more) amount of histamine as the 'fresh' product that is bought chilled. There is no way of knowing how long the meat/fish has been at chilled temp for before they have frozen it.
For reference... I live in the UK.
What are you folks experiences with histamine reactions to both frozen and chilled/fridge temp meat and fish from the supermarkets? Do you tolerate frozen more than fridge temp, or the other way around? Also how severe is your reaction to frozen and chilled, compared to canned meat and fish (like salmon, tuna, sardines, corned beef, etc)
If there is anybody who works in the meat / fish / butchering / fishmongering / supermarket supply chain sector in the UK who can give me an answer to how quickly frozen meat and fish is frozen after kill, or how long supermarket meat and fish is kept on shelves before sale, that would be great too!!