Key facts
- Laidlaw and colleagues (1990) analysed 29 meats, 9 dairy products and 48 plant foods: no taurine was found in any plant food. 1
- The flesh of animals, particularly marine animals, contained high taurine concentrations; plant products contained little or none. 2
- Beef: 2.34 to 2.92Â mg of taurine per gram of dry matter depending on the cut; corn, potato, soybean, wheat flour and white rice: none. 3
- Cooking methods that keep food in contact with water lose more taurine than baking or frying. 2
- The human body makes taurine from cysteine, but at a very low rate. 3
What is taurine?
Taurine is a sulphur-containing compound widely distributed in the animal kingdom. According to the review by Guoyao Wu (Amino Acids, 2020), it is made from cysteine, which itself comes from the breakdown of methionine. Humans make some, but at a very low rate compared with other mammals, so most dietary taurine comes from foods of animal origin. It is abundant in the milk of mammals.
Which foods contain it?
In 1990, Laidlaw, Grosvenor and Kopple measured taurine in 29 meats, raw and cooked, 9 dairy products, 17 infant or adult feeding solutions and 48 plant foods: vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and legumes. They detected it in meats, dairy products and infant feeding solutions, but not in plant products or adult feeding solutions. In 2003, the Spitze team found that the flesh of animals, particularly marine animals, contained high concentrations of taurine.
| Food or group | What is reported | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Meats | Taurine detected in the 29 meat samples analysed | Laidlaw and colleagues, 1990 |
| Beef (chuck, round, loin) | 2.34 to 2.92Â mg per gram of dry matter | Wu, 2020 |
| Seafood | Flesh of marine animals rich in taurine | Spitze and colleagues, 2003 |
| Milk and dairy products | Taurine detected; abundant in the milk of mammals | Laidlaw and colleagues, 1990; Wu, 2020 |
| Plant foods | No taurine in the 48 plant foods analysed; none in corn, potato, soybean, wheat flour or white rice | Laidlaw and colleagues, 1990; Wu, 2020 |
What each source measured
The three sources were written for different purposes, and that shapes what they can say. Reading them side by side shows where the figures overlap and where they do not.
| Source | What was analysed | What it reports |
|---|---|---|
| Laidlaw, Grosvenor and Kopple, 1990 | 29 meats (raw and cooked), 9 dairy products, 17 feeding solutions and 48 plant foods | Taurine detected in meats, dairy products and infant feeding solutions, not in plant products1 |
| Spitze and colleagues, 2003 | A variety of animal feed ingredients, chosen for pet and zoo-animal diets | High taurine in animal flesh, particularly marine; low or undetectable in plant products; losses depend on cooking2 |
| Wu, 2020 | A review that includes beef cuts (chuck, round, loin) from three US packing plants | 2.34 to 2.92Â mg per gram of dry matter in beef; absent from plants3 |
The 1990 study also compared calculated and measured daily intakes in six defined diets, and presented sample diets for omnivores, lacto-ovo vegetarians and vegans.1 The abstract read for this page gives no figures for those diets, so this page quotes none.
What about plant foods?
The three sources agree: plant foods contain none, or very little. Laidlaw and colleagues found none in any of the 48 plant foods analysed, Spitze and colleagues measured low or undetectable amounts in plant products, and Wu's review states that taurine is absent from all plants.
A note on units and on zeros
The beef values are given per gram of dry matter, not per gram of the food as eaten. Fresh meat contains water, so the amount in a portion of cooked meat is lower than the dry-matter value suggests; this page does not convert them because the water content of the samples was not part of the passages read. As a unit conversion, 2.34 to 2.92 milligrams per gram of dry matter is the same as 2.34 to 2.92 grams per kilogram of dry matter.
A zero in a table needs care too. The 1990 study says taurine was not detected in plant products, which means it was below what the method could measure. The 2003 study speaks of low or undetectable amounts, and the 2020 review states that taurine is absent from plants. These wordings are not identical, but they point the same way.
Does cooking change the content?
Yes, depending on the method. According to Spitze and colleagues (2003), foods that stay in contact with water during cooking, as in boiling or basting, lose more taurine. Methods that limit water loss, such as baking or frying, keep a larger share of it.
Cooking methods compared
The 2003 study compared how much taurine remained in a feed ingredient after different ways of preparing it. The deciding factor was contact with water.
| Method | Contact with water | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Boiling or basting | The ingredient is constantly surrounded by water | More taurine was lost |
| Baking or frying | Water loss is minimised | A higher share of taurine was retained |
Reported for animal feed ingredients; the abstract does not give figures by food.2
The same logic applies to other water-soluble compounds, as the page on spermidine in food shows: published values describe a food in a given state, and the state changes with cooking. Put simply, the table answers a question of where: in animal flesh, particularly marine, and in dairy products, and in no plant food analysed in the 1990 study. It does not answer how much a portion contains, because the sources read give dry-matter values for beef and no figures by species for seafood. Related food composition pages cover betaine and astaxanthin, and the rules for reading a pack are in how to read a food label. The group is collected in food composition guides.
What this page does not say
- It attributes no property to taurine.
- It recommends no amount, per day or per meal.
- It covers everyday foods only, not drinks or products with added taurine.
- The abstracts of the 1990 and 2003 studies were read, not their full text.
When to ask for advice
To adapt your diet to your situation, in particular if you eat no animal products, a doctor or dietitian can advise you. This page presents food composition data and does not replace medical advice.
Frequently asked questions
Which foods contain taurine?
Foods of animal origin. The study by Laidlaw and colleagues (1990) detected it in meats and dairy products, the study by Spitze and colleagues (2003) found high levels in the flesh of marine animals, and the 2020 review by Wu describes it as abundant in the milk of mammals.
Do plant foods contain taurine?
No, or very little. Laidlaw and colleagues (1990) found none in any of the 48 plant foods they analysed, Spitze and colleagues (2003) measured low or undetectable amounts in plant products, and the 2020 review by Wu states that taurine is absent from all plants that have been studied.
Does seafood contain taurine?
Yes. In the study by Spitze and colleagues published in 2003, the flesh of animals contained high concentrations of taurine, particularly that of marine animals. The abstract read for this page gives no figure by species, so this page does not quote values for individual fish or shellfish.
Does cooking reduce taurine?
It can. According to Spitze and colleagues (2003), foods that stay in contact with water during cooking, for example when boiled, lose more taurine. Cooking methods that limit water loss, such as baking or frying, keep a larger share of the taurine in the food itself.
Does the human body make taurine?
Yes, but little. According to the 2020 review by Guoyao Wu in Amino Acids, taurine is made from cysteine, which comes from methionine, and humans have a very low ability to make it at any stage of life, much lower than that of the rat for example.
Does this page recommend an amount of taurine?
No. It only describes which foods contain taurine and how cooking changes the amount. It attributes no property to taurine and recommends no amount. To adapt your diet to your own situation, ask a doctor or a dietitian, who can take your circumstances into account.
Sources
- Laidlaw SA, Grosvenor M, Kopple JD. The taurine content of common foodstuffs. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 1990;14(2):183-188. Abstract read on PubMed, PubMed. Retrieved 27 October 2026
- Spitze AR, Wong DL, Rogers QR, Fascetti AJ. Taurine concentrations in animal feed ingredients; cooking influences taurine content. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr. 2003;87(7-8):251-262. Abstract read on PubMed, PubMed. Retrieved 27 October 2026
- Wu G. Important roles of dietary taurine, creatine, carnosine, anserine and 4-hydroxyproline in human nutrition and health. Amino Acids. 2020;52(3):329-360. Passages on food content read on PubMed Central, PubMed Central. Retrieved 27 October 2026