Game meats

Fresh game meat doesn't inherently contain histamine — the issue is what happens between harvest and your plate.

• Time and temperature after the hunt — histamine accumulates in meat as it sits, so game that was field-dressed quickly and kept cold is much lower risk than meat that sat out for hours

• Processing method — commercially processed game is often handled with similar speed to farmed meat, while home-hunted meat varies more widely in handling consistency

Asking about handling practices — or choosing commercially processed game — can give you more confidence in freshness.