🍎 Nitrites and nitrates in meat and meat products — a standard of 1974, spectrophotometric method in accreditation scopes, result expressed as NaNO2, NaNO3, KNO3 or as ions; PN-A-82114:1974 (usually written PN-74/A-82114 in scopes), withdrawn and replaced by PN-EN 12014-3:2006

Food chemistry PN-74/A-82114

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The "Scope" field of the PKN card, in full: "The subject of the standard is the determination of the content of nitrites and nitrates in meat and meat products." (our translation). The card gives neither the principle of the method nor a concentration range; we did not have the text of the standard (3 pages).

STATUS (cards as of 13.10.2026). The card of PN-A-82114:1974 (Polish version) bears the heading "Withdrawn and replaced by PN-EN 12014-3:2006 - Polish version": publication 19-03-1974, "Withdrawal date: 24-08-2006", 3 pages, price group B, Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sector, KT 93 Meat, Eggs and their Products, "Replaces: PN-A-82114:1966 - Polish version", ICS 67.120.10. The successor, PN-EN 12014-3:2006 "Foodstuffs — Determination of nitrate and/or nitrite content — Part 3: Spectrometric determination of nitrate and nitrite content of meat products after enzymatic reduction of nitrate to nitrite" (publication 24-08-2006, 15 pages, KT 235 Food Analysis, "Adopts: EN 12014-3:2005 [IDT]", "Replaces: PN-A-82114:1974 - Polish version, PN-EN 12014-3:2005 - English version"), has no "Withdrawn" heading; its "Scope" speaks of a method validated for meat products with contents from 9 to 22 mg/kg of nitrite calculated as sodium nitrite and from 23 to 48 mg/kg of nitrate calculated as sodium nitrate; it has amendment Ap1:2008. The PKN search under "PN-A-82114" (12.10.2026) returns four editions of this standard (1956, 1960, 1966, 1974), all withdrawn; under "PN-EN 12014" — parts 1–5 and 7 of the PN-EN 12014 series, among them part 4 on ion-exchange chromatography in meat products.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database from the production server, refreshed on 12.10.2026). Number 82114 appears in 10 records at 8 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 12–13.10.2026; issues from 29.10.2025 — AB 559 — to 19.08.2026 — AB 624) — in 8 rows at the same laboratories; a search of all downloaded PCA documents found no laboratories outside the database copy, no row with the number is set in bold italics, and no pages are repeated in any document. Notations: "PN-74/A-82114" — 5 laboratories (AB 451, AB 510, AB 517, AB 585, AB 624); "PN-A-82114:1974" — AB 583 (next to procedure PB-13/HŻ edition 1 of 24.01.2012) and AB 601; "PB-22/Pche edition 03 of 30.08.2024 based on the standard PN-74/A-82114" — AB 559. The "Laboratories" tab looks for notations BEGINNING with the search term: "PN-74/A-82114" — 5 laboratories, "PN-A-82114" — 2, the notation starting with the procedure of AB 559 — 1 — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 13.10.2026; this page searches with "PN-74/A-82114", so the tab shows 5 of the 8 laboratories.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Test object: meat and meat products — all 8; AB 451 also ready meals, canned products (poultry, meat), fish and fish products. Technique: spectrophotometric method — all. Nitrites and nitrates with ranges: AB 451 — nitrates 13.0–369.2 mg/kg, nitrites 2.6–200.0 mg/kg; AB 517 — nitrites 2.00–150.00, nitrates 2.50–300.00 mg/kg; AB 583 — nitrates 5.0–250, nitrites 1.0–100 mg/kg; AB 585 — nitrites 6–100, nitrates 7–330 mg/kg; AB 601 — nitrates as NaNO3 12.2–2197.5 mg/kg (as NO3− 8.9–1604.2 mg/kg), nitrites as NaNO2 4.0–300.0 mg/kg (as NO2− 2.7–201.0 mg/kg); AB 624 — nitrites 0.50–150 mg/kg (as NaNO2), nitrates 3.70–200 mg/kg (as KNO3). Nitrites measured, nitrates calculated — AB 510 (nitrites as NaNO2 1.5–150 mg/kg, nitrates as NaNO3) and AB 559 (nitrites as NaNO2 1.6–150 mg/kg).

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. Nitrites or nitrates in meat and meat products are determined by 33 laboratories in the database copy (entries with nitrites or nitrates in the test description and with meat, poultry, cured meats, canned products or ready meals as the test object, without feed, water, soil and fertilisers): PN-EN 12014-3 is cited by 11 of them, this standard by 8, PN-EN 12014-4 (ion-exchange chromatography) by 5, the rest mainly in-house procedures. AB 559 has PN-EN 12014-3 next to the procedure based on this standard, and AB 583 — PN-EN 12014-4. The determination according to PN-EN 12014-3 and PN-EN 12014-4 is described in separate Knowledge Base entries.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 24.08.2006, and its card names the successor PN-EN 12014-3:2006, which is current; 7 laboratories cite the withdrawn standard directly, AB 559 a procedure based on it. Second — form of the result: the laboratories express the result as sodium nitrite (NaNO2), sodium nitrate (NaNO3), potassium nitrate (KNO3 — AB 624) or as the ions NO2− and NO3− (AB 601); the same sample gives different numbers in each of these forms, so when comparing results with each other and with a limit, check in which form the result is given (the successor calculates nitrites as sodium nitrite and nitrates as sodium nitrate). Third — nitrates by calculation: at AB 510 and AB 559 nitrites are measured and nitrates calculated; we do not know the method of calculation from the cards. Fourth — ranges: the lower limits of the laboratories are from 0.50 mg/kg (AB 624) to 13.0 mg/kg (AB 451), the upper ones reach 2197.5 mg/kg NaNO3 (AB 601), while the successor was validated for 9–22 mg/kg of nitrites and 23–48 mg/kg of nitrates — the ranges of the laboratories go far beyond the validation range of the successor, which has to be taken into account when switching to PN-EN 12014-3. Fifth — tab: because of three notations of the number, the "Laboratories" tab of this page shows 5 of the 8 laboratories.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the principle of the method, the way nitrates are reduced, the colour reagents, the wavelength, sample preparation or the calculation formulae. We do not give the permitted contents of nitrites and nitrates in meat products — we did not check the regulations.

Method principle

The PKN card gives only the subject of the standard: the determination of the content of nitrites and nitrates in meat and meat products; in accreditation scopes all laboratories use a spectrophotometric method, and two calculate nitrates from the results. WE DO NOT GIVE the chemical principle or details — we did not have the text of the standard; the current spectrometric method after enzymatic reduction of nitrate to nitrite (PN-EN 12014-3:2006) is described in a separate Knowledge Base entry.

Applications

• Meat and meat products — nitrites and nitrates (withdrawn standard in the current accreditation scopes of 8 laboratories)
• Ready meals, canned poultry and meat, fish and fish products — entry of AB 451

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-A-82114:1974

Title (PL)

Mięso i przetwory mięsne — Oznaczanie zawartości azotynów i azotanów

Title (EN)

Meat and meat products — Determination of nitrite and nitrate content

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sample

   Meat or meat product; WE DO NOT GIVE the preparation. PN-A-82114:1974 withdrawn on 24-08-2006, replaced by PN-EN 12014-3:2006.

2. Determination of nitrites

   Spectrophotometric method (accreditation scopes); WE DO NOT GIVE the reagents or conditions.

3. Determination of nitrates

   Measurement or calculation (AB 510, AB 559 — calculated); WE DO NOT GIVE the method.

4. Result

   mg/kg in the stated form (NaNO2, NaNO3, KNO3 or ions) — the form has to be given with the result.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Nitrites and colour reagents — safety rules of a chemical laboratory
• SUBJECT-MATTER NOTE: standard withdrawn in 2006; the current one is PN-EN 12014-3:2006

Frequently asked questions