A novel screening immunoassay for histamine was used for detection of histamine in different foodstuffs. The detection limit of this assay was 20 µg kg-1. The concentration of histamine varied between 182-982 µg kg-1 in sauerkraut, cheese and fish samples and 26-18433 µg l-1 in milk, sparkling wine and wines. The applied competitive enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) seemed a reliable technique for simple and rapid determination of histamine in food.