🦠 Leak-tightness of hermetically sealed cans in metal, glass and plastic containers — in the scopes the vacuum method, PN-A-82055-4

Microbiology PN-A-82055-4

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The scope from the PKN catalogue card, quoted in full: "Methods for testing the leak-tightness of canned products in metal, glass and plastic containers are given. The scope of application of the methods, the principle of determination, the test procedure and the reading and interpretation of results are specified." Amendment PN-A-82055-4:1997/Az1:2002 — the scope from its card: "The pressure value in the leak-tightness test of canned products in glass containers has been changed." Which methods these are and what pressure — the cards do not say.

STATUS (state of the cards on 29 September 2026). The card of PN-A-82055-4:1997 (Polish version) carries no withdrawal note — the standard is CURRENT. Published 24-02-1997, 3 pages, PKN technical committee KT 93 (Meat, Eggs and their Products), ICS 07.100.30; "Supersedes: PN-A-82054:1983 - Polish version". Amendment Az1: published 21-03-2002, 1 page, also without a withdrawal note. In the PKN search for "PN-A-82055" (29 September 2026) all other sheets of the series — from the general rules of testing through the determination of the total count of microorganisms to the detection of Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus — are labelled "Withdrawn"; only this sheet and its amendment are without that label. Sheet 5 (testing the stability of canned products by the thermostatic method) has a separate entry in this knowledge base.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17 September 2026, read on 28 September 2026). All records of number 82055 with sheet 4: 15 entries at 13 laboratories. Eleven laboratories cite the standard together with amendment Az1:2002 — as "+Az1:2002" or as a separate record "PN-A-82055-4:1997/Az1:2002"; AB 1033 and AB 1138 — without the amendment. The "Laboratories" tab searches for records BEGINNING with "PN-A-82055-4" and shows all 13 laboratories — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 29 September 2026: 13. Object: canned meat, poultry and meat-and-vegetable products, meat and meat products in metal containers. Technique: the vacuum method — 12 laboratories record it explicitly, AB 079 adds a visual method, AB 819 gives no technique. Current scopes on the PCA website (read on 29 September 2026): all entries stand in the valid issues and none is suspended.

CLAUSES OF THE STANDARD IN THE SCOPES. AB 370 cites clause 2.4.1, AB 521 — clauses 2.4.1.1, 2.4.1.2 and 2.5, AB 1087 — clause 2.4.1.2; AB 1033 and AB 1042 exclude clauses 2.4.1.3, 2.4.2 and 2.4.3 (AB 1042 for all three of its entries), AB 1138 — clauses 2.4.1.3 and 2.4.2, and AB 492 — clauses 2.4.2 and 2.4.3. In our copy the records of AB 1033 and AB 1042 break off at "2.4.1.3" — they are complete in the current PCA scopes. The pattern of the records suggests that clause 2.4.1 covers the vacuum method with several variants, and clauses 2.4.2 and 2.4.3 other methods: all four laboratories that exclude them record the vacuum method. What they concern — WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED. The card speaks of metal, glass and plastic containers; in the scopes only metal containers or "hermetically sealed" ones without a type are named.

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. For the leak-tightness of food containers the scopes also cite (full list; vacuum method unless stated otherwise): for fruit, vegetable and meat-and-vegetable products and canned goods in hermetically sealed containers — PN-A-75052-02:1990 "Fruit, vegetable and meat-and-vegetable products — Methods of microbiological testing — Leak-tightness test of hermetically sealed containers" (according to the PKN card withdrawn on 23-11-2011, with no successor indicated; its scope covers two methods with a vacuum desiccator and a test by immersion in water, for tin and glass containers) — ten laboratories (AB 076, AB 079, AB 370, AB 444, AB 492, AB 532, AB 705, AB 1033, AB 1042, AB 1087; AB 370 cites clauses 2.2.2 and 2.2.3, AB 1087 — clause 2.2.2, AB 492 excludes 2.2.4, AB 1033 and AB 1042 — 2.2.3 and 2.2.4; AB 1033 writes "PN-A-75052-2:1990", AB 492 — "PN-90/A-75052.02"); for canned and processed fish — PN-A-86732:1992 "Canned fish — Quality testing" (according to the PKN card withdrawn on 26-10-2012, with no successor indicated; its scope covers a list of 22 methods for testing the quality and assessing lots of canned fish, 13 of them described in detail) — nine laboratories (AB 370, AB 492, AB 521, AB 532, AB 705, AB 1033, AB 1042, AB 1087, AB 1138): seven cite clause 2.3.10, AB 492 and AB 532 — the standard without a clause, and AB 1042 writes it "PN – 92/A-86732" with spaces around the dash and adds "excluding sampling"; the defence standards NO-89-A202 and NO-89-A208, clause 4.7 — AB 076 (both in the 2015 and 2025 editions), AB 1042 (2015 editions) and AB 1138 (NO-89-A202:2015), while AB 1042 records NO-89-A201:2015 (clauses 4.9 and 4.10) and NO-89-A203:2015 (clauses 4.8 and 4.9) together with this standard; for fish semi-preserves — PN-A-86765:1999, visual method (AB 285). The general record "Normy" (standards) for food in flexible scopes is used by AB 285, AB 704 and AB 1334, in-house procedures by AB 1264 (PB-25, cans with food and pet food) and AB 313 (PB-PAZ/M-05, visual method). PN-A-75052-02 and PN-A-86732 are withdrawn according to the PKN cards (2011 and 2012), yet they still stand in the accreditation scopes.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — PKN sells it (3 pages and 1 page of the amendment). We do not give the vacuum and pressure values, the test duration, the design of the apparatus, the number of samples or the assessment criteria; we do not know what clauses 2.4.1.3, 2.4.2 and 2.4.3 contain.

Method principle

According to the card of the standard, the leak-tightness of hermetically sealed canned products in metal, glass and plastic containers is tested by methods for which the standard specifies the scope of application, the principle, the procedure and the interpretation of results; amendment Az1:2002 changed the pressure value for glass containers. In the accreditation scopes the laboratories record the vacuum method. We DO NOT GIVE the pressure values, test duration or assessment criteria — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Leak-tightness check of canned meat, poultry and meat-and-vegetable products — in the accreditation scopes of 13 laboratories
• Alongside the test of the stability of canned products by the thermostatic method — 12 of the 13 laboratories also have PN-A-82055-5 in their scope (separate entry in this knowledge base)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-A-82055-4:1997 (wersja polska) ze zmianą PN-A-82055-4:1997/Az1:2002

Title (PL)

Mięso i przetwory mięsne — Badania mikrobiologiczne — Badanie szczelności konserw hermetycznie zamkniętych

Title (EN)

Meat and meat products — Microbiological testing — Leak-tightness test of hermetically sealed cans

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status and amendment

   PKN card: the standard and amendment Az1:2002 are current (state of the cards on 29 September 2026). It is worth citing both in the report.

2. Preparation of the can

   Establish the type of container (metal, glass, plastic) — the card speaks of the scope of application of the methods, and amendment Az1:2002 changed the pressure for glass containers; details NOT GIVEN.

3. Test

   In the accreditation scopes — the vacuum method (according to the pattern of the records, clause 2.4.1 of the standard with variants). Conditions NOT GIVEN.

4. Reading and interpretation

   According to the card the standard specifies how results are read and interpreted; criteria NOT GIVEN.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Work with vacuum equipment and glass — risk of the container breaking
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: the PCA scope indicates the variant of the method by clauses of the standard (2.4.1.1–2.4.1.3, 2.4.2, 2.4.3) — the standard number alone in the report does not say which variant was used

Frequently asked questions