🍎 pH of all kinds of meat and meat products, including poultry — reference method: measurement of the potential difference between a glass electrode and a reference electrode placed in the sample or in an extract of the sample; also non-destructive measurement in carcasses, quarters and muscles; PN-ISO 2917:2001 + Ap1:2002

Food chemistry PN-ISO 2917

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The "Scope" field of the PKN card, in full: "A reference method is described for measuring pH in all kinds of meat and meat products, including poultry. The method applies to products that can be comminuted and to non-destructive measurements in carcasses, quarters and muscles. The principle of the method is the measurement of the potential difference between a glass electrode and a reference electrode placed in the sample or in an extract of the sample of meat or meat product" (our translation; no full stop at the end on the card). The description of ISO 2917:1999 in the Standard Norge catalogue gives the same application (products that may be homogenized, and non-destructive measurements on carcasses, quarters and muscles). We did not have the text of the standard (9 pages).

STATUS (card as of 13.10.2026). The card of PN-ISO 2917:2001 (Polish version) has no "Withdrawn" heading: publication 13-06-2001, 9 pages, price group E, Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sector, KT 93 Meat, Eggs and their Products, "Adopts: ISO 2917:1999 [IDT]", "Replaces: PN-A-82058:1977 - Polish version", ICS 67.120.10, "Additional elements: PN-ISO 2917:2001/Ap1:2002P". The card makes amendment Ap1 (September 2002, approved by the President of PKN on 2 September 2002) available free of charge; its entire content is the sentence: "On the title page, in the field 'instead of', PN-77/A-82058 is added" (our translation) — the amendment changes nothing in the method (read on the image of the page). At the publisher: according to the Standard Norge catalogue (13.10.2026) ISO 2917:1999 (edition 2 of 16 December 1999, ISO/TC 34/SC 6) has the status "Published" and the note "Revises: ISO 2917:1974".

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database from the production server, refreshed on 12.10.2026). Number 2917 appears in 9 records at 8 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 12–13.10.2026; issues from 29.10.2025 — AB 559 — to 07.08.2026 — AB 400 and AB 510) — in 9 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 (in the AB 1179 document a suspension at the laboratory's request covers other entries), and no pages are repeated in any document. Notations: "PN-ISO 2917:2001 + Ap1:2002" with different spacing — AB 483, AB 510, AB 819 (two entries), AB 1179, AB 1334; "PN-ISO 2917:2001" without the amendment — AB 452, AB 559; "PN-ISO 2917:2001+Ap1:2012" — AB 400 (the card lists only amendment Ap1:2002). The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-ISO 2917") shows all 8 laboratories — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 13.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Test object: meat and meat products — all 8; at AB 819 a separate entry: fish and fish products; at AB 1334 in the same entry also fish and fish products, ready meals, mayonnaise and mayonnaise sauces, seafood. Characteristic: pH. Technique: potentiometric method — all. pH ranges: 2.0–10.0 — AB 1334; 3.0–10.0 (meat) and 3.0–7.0 (fish) — AB 819; 4.00–10.00 — AB 559; 4.00–8.00 — AB 452, AB 483; 4.00–7.00 — AB 400; 4.00–6.90 — AB 510; 5–7 — AB 1179.

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. No other document stands in the entries with this standard. The pH of meat and meat products is determined by 13 laboratories in the database copy (entries with pH in the test description and with meat, poultry, carcasses or cured meats as the test object, without feed); apart from this standard: in-house procedures — AB 285, AB 592, AB 1095; instruction of the Chief Veterinary Officer No. GIWpr-02010-5/2015 of 30 July 2015 — AB 545 and AB 584 (we did not read the content of the instruction).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — test object: the card speaks of meat and meat products of all kinds, including poultry; it does not name fish, seafood, ready meals or mayonnaise — AB 819 and AB 1334 have them in entries with this standard. Second — measurement mode: the standard allows measurement in the sample, in an extract of the sample and non-destructive measurement in a carcass, quarter and muscle; these are different measurement conditions, and the entries in the accreditation scopes do not say which of them the laboratory uses. Third — range: the entries extend from pH 2.0 to 10.0, and narrow ranges (AB 1179 5–7, AB 510 4.00–6.90) will not cover samples with a pH outside them. Fourth — notation of the amendment: Ap1 is editorial, so citing the standard with or without the amendment does not change the method; the notation "Ap1:2012" (AB 400) does not match the year of the amendment on the card (2002).

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give how the extract is prepared, the buffers and the calibration of the pH meter, the measurement temperature, the requirements for the electrodes or the required accuracy of the result.

Method principle

pH is measured as the potential difference between a glass electrode and a reference electrode placed in the sample or in an extract of the sample of meat or meat product; in carcasses, quarters and muscles the measurement may be non-destructive (PKN card). WE DO NOT GIVE details of the procedure — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Meat and meat products of all kinds, including poultry — pH by the reference method (PKN card)
• Non-destructive measurements in carcasses, quarters and muscles (PKN card)
• Meat and meat products — in the current accreditation scopes of 8 laboratories; at two also fish

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-ISO 2917:2001 + Ap1:2002

Title (PL)

Mięso i przetwory mięsne — Pomiar pH — Metoda odwoławcza

Title (EN)

Meat and meat products — Measurement of pH — Reference method

Step-by-step procedure

1. Choice of measurement mode

   Comminuted sample, extract of the sample or non-destructive measurement in a carcass, quarter and muscle (PKN card). PN-ISO 2917:2001 current (13.10.2026).

2. Preparation

   Comminution or extract — WE DO NOT GIVE details.

3. Measurement

   Potential difference between a glass electrode and a reference electrode (PKN card).

4. Result

   pH of the sample, the extract or the carcass, quarter or muscle (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the requirements for reporting the result.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Comminuting meat — rules for safe work with cutting equipment
• SUBJECT-MATTER NOTE: the card names meat and meat products, including poultry; it does not name fish or other products

Frequently asked questions