🌾 Wheat — impurity content (sieving and classification into groups), in the scopes also ergot sclerotia in cereals, PN-R-74015

Food chemistry PN-R-74015

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The “Scope” field of the PKN catalogue card of PN-R-74015:1994, in full (our translation from Polish): “The principle of the method consists in separating impurities by sieving and classifying the individual groups of impurities. 9 formulae for calculating the results of the determination are included. 2 annexes are given: an auxiliary list of harmful and toxic seeds and a list of inadmissible pests of stored cereal grain”. The title refers to wheat. The card gives only the Polish title; the English title in the header of this entry is our translation.

STATUS (PKN card as of 06.11.2026). The card “PN-R-74015:1994 - Polish version” carries the label “Withdrawn” and the line “Withdrawal date: 01-10-2021”. The card has no “Replaced by” or “Replaces” fields — the catalogue names no successor. Edition: published 15-12-1994, 5 pages, Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sector, technical body KT 36 Cereals and Cereal Products, ICS 67.060. Withdrawal does not change the content of the standard; the card does not say which document to test by instead.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database refreshed from the production server on 02.11.2026, read on 06.11.2026; current PCA documents, read on 06.11.2026). Notations of the number 74015 with the letter R (no digit may stand directly before or after the number): 8 entries at 7 Polish laboratories — AB 103 (2 entries), AB 311, AB 435, AB 515, AB 552, AB 562 and AB 1275 (1 each); there are no Czech laboratories with this number in the copy. All in the form “PN-R-74015:1994”, one with “pkt 2.4.1” added (AB 435). We do not count 2 entries of AB 775 with the notation “PN-73/A-74015” — that is a different standard of the A series, on cereal products (in the scope: degree of fineness of cereal products and breadcrumbs, sieving-gravimetric method). The “Laboratories” tab (“PN-R-74015”) gives the same on the same copy: 7 laboratories, 8 entries, without AB 775. In the current PCA scope documents of these 7 laboratories the number occurs 8 times in total — as many as in the copy. One of them is suspended: the AB 103 entry “Wheat grain — impurity content *) (0,001–20,3) %” stands in the part of the scope with the footnote “Accreditation suspended at the request of the body in the part of the scope marked in bold italics from 18.02.2026 to 17.02.2027” (issue 42 of 18.02.2026); the second AB 103 entry — (0,01–20,5) % — carries no suspension mark.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents, complete entries). Impurity content in wheat grain by the gravimetric method: (0,001–20,3) % and (0,01–20,5) % (AB 103, two entries, the first suspended); (0,001–15,0) % with a list of groups — ergot, broken grains, shrivelled grains, unsound grains, grains damaged by pests, grains of other cereals, extraneous organic matter, extraneous inorganic matter, harmful and/or toxic seeds, bunt-infected grains and ergot (AB 1275). Content of ergot sclerotia in cereals, result in g/kg: (0,050–1,00) g/kg (AB 311), (0,05–5,00) g/kg (AB 515), (0,10–5,00) g/kg in cereal grains (AB 552), (0,050–5,00) g/kg (AB 562) — gravimetric method; (0,01–1,0) g/kg in cereals and cereal products — visual and gravimetric method, point 2.4.1, together with PN-R-74110:1998/Ap1:1999 point 4.2.4.1 (AB 435). Five of the seven laboratories cite the standard only for ergot — and for “cereals”, not only for wheat.

LEGISLATION AGAINST WHICH THE ERGOT RESULT IS COMPARED. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food (OJ L 119, 5.5.2023), Annex I point 1.8.1 — ergot sclerotia: maximum level 0,2 g/kg for unprocessed cereal grains with the exception of maize and rice (point 1.8.1.1) and for unprocessed rye grains 0,5 g/kg, “0,2 as from 1 July 2024” (point 1.8.1.2). The level “applies to unprocessed cereal grains placed on the market before primary processing”; where cleaning is applied because of ergot sclerotia, the cereals must first undergo a first cleaning step; sampling — in accordance with point B of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 401/2006. The regulation does not cite PN-R-74015 — its text contains no designation of any Polish Standard. The value 0,2 g/kg lies within the ranges of all five laboratories testing ergot (lower limits from 0,01 to 0,10 g/kg). We read the text of the regulation as published in 2023; whether point 1.8.1 has been amended since — WE HAVE NOT CHECKED.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — sampling: for ergot the legislation requires sampling in accordance with point B of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 401/2006; a result from a sample taken otherwise describes that sample, not the lot assessed against 0,2 g/kg. How much grain the standard itself takes for the determination — WE DO NOT GIVE, we did not have the text of the standard. Second — measurement: in the AB 1275 list ergot is one of the groups of impurities, so the result for “impurity content” and the result for ergot alone are different numbers; moreover, impurities are reported in % and ergot in g/kg — the same content in % is a number ten times smaller (1 % = 10 g/kg), so 0,2 g/kg is 0,02 %. Third — calculation: according to the card the standard gives 9 formulae for calculating the results, and impurities are classified into groups (list of groups in the scope of AB 1275); the group to which a grain is assigned changes the result of the group, and an entry giving a single figure for “impurity content” (AB 103) does not show which groups were summed — WE DO NOT GIVE the formulae and group criteria. Fourth — the test object: the title refers to wheat, but laboratories determine ergot in “cereals”; for rye the legislation gives two values — 0,5 g/kg and “0,2 as from 1 July 2024” — so a rye result from a test report issued before that date was assessed against a different value than today. Fifth — the document: PN-A-74015 (AB 775) is a different standard, on cereal products; the number alone without the series letter is ambiguous.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — PKN makes it available for a fee (5 pages), and we found no preview online. We do not give the sample size, the sieves and manner of sieving, the definitions of the groups of impurities, the 9 formulae, the content of both annexes, the manner of separating ergot sclerotia or the content of point 2.4.1. Whether the PKN catalogue today contains a current standard for determining impurities in wheat — WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED: the first page of the results of the search “pszenica zanieczyszczeń” (06.11.2026, 50 items) does not show one, and we did not read further pages. We did not read the catalogue cards of PN-A-74015 and PN-R-74110 — we do not give their status. We did not check references to PN-R-74015 in other legislation.

Method principle

According to the card of the standard: impurities are separated from a wheat sample by sieving and then classified into individual groups; the results are calculated using the 9 formulae given in the standard, and the annexes help identify harmful and toxic seeds and inadmissible pests of stored grain. In accreditation scopes the following stand next to this standard: the gravimetric method (impurity content in %, at AB 1275 with a list of groups) and the gravimetric or visual and gravimetric method (ergot sclerotia in g/kg). WE DO NOT GIVE the course and the formulae — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Wheat grain — impurity content by the gravimetric method, at AB 1275 with a list of groups of impurities (ergot, broken, shrivelled, unsound grains, grains damaged by pests, grains of other cereals, extraneous organic and inorganic matter, harmful or toxic seeds, bunt-infected grains)
• Cereals — content of ergot sclerotia in g/kg, gravimetric or visual and gravimetric method (point 2.4.1 in the scope of AB 435)
• Assessment of the ergot result against 0,2 g/kg for unprocessed cereal grains — Regulation (EU) 2023/915, Annex I point 1.8.1 (the legislation does not cite this standard)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-R-74015:1994

Title (PL)

Pszenica — Oznaczanie zanieczyszczeń

Title (EN)

Wheat — Determination of impurities

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status of the document

   PKN card: the standard was withdrawn on 01-10-2021, without a “Replaced by” field (state of the card on 06.11.2026). The series letter R distinguishes it from PN-A-74015 (cereal products).

2. Sampling

   For assessing ergot against the legislation: sampling in accordance with point B of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 401/2006 (requirement of Regulation (EU) 2023/915, Annex I point 1.8.1). WE DO NOT GIVE the sample size for the determination according to the standard.

3. Separation and classification of impurities

   According to the card: sieving and classification of the groups of impurities; in the scopes the gravimetric method — at AB 1275 with a list of groups, for ergot separation of ergot sclerotia (point 2.4.1 in the scope of AB 435). WE DO NOT GIVE the sieves, course and group criteria.

4. Calculation and result

   According to the card the results are calculated using the 9 formulae of the standard (WE DO NOT GIVE them). In the scopes: impurities in %, ergot sclerotia in g/kg (1 % = 10 g/kg); the ergot result is compared with 0,2 g/kg for unprocessed cereal grains (excluding maize and rice).

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• We do not describe hazards and precautions — we did not have the text of the standard, and the card does not list them
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the same content written in % is a number ten times smaller than in g/kg — 0,2 g/kg is 0,02 %

Frequently asked questions