Malt
Malt is rated moderate. SIGHI rates it poorly tolerated, and it's a common hidden ingredient in cereals, bagels and pretzels.
Malt is grain, usually barley, that has been sprouted and dried. It shows up on labels as malt extract, malt syrup, barley malt or malt flavoring, added for sweetness and color.
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Why it's rated moderate: SIGHI rates malt 2, its "incompatible" score, but marks its reasons as uncertain, so we rate it moderate rather than high
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Where it hides: breakfast cereals, bagels, pretzels, malted milk powder and some breads, so it's worth checking the label
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What isn't counted: the small amount of malted barley flour in enriched wheat flour, and maltodextrin, which isn't malt despite the name, are both rated low
If malted foods seem to bother you, checking cereal and bread labels is the quickest way to find them.
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For educational purposes only. Not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional for personal guidance.
References
- SIGHI Food Compatibility List — SIGHI (2026)
- Histamine and histamine intolerance — Maintz & Novak (2007)
- Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art — Comas-Basté et al. (2020)
- Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? — Sánchez-Pérez et al. (2021)
- Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond — Jochum (2024)
- Guideline on management of suspected adverse reactions to ingested histamine — Reese et al. (2021)