New Regulation on Nitrifying Agents

On October 6, 2023, Regulation (EU) 2023/2108 was published, introducing significant changes to the permissible levels of nitrifying agents in food.

This regulation sets updated requirements regarding the residual content of nitrites (E 249–250) and nitrates (E 251–252) in meat products and preparations, cured cheeses, dairy substitutes, and processed fish and fishery products. It is a stricter regulation aimed at ensuring that products reaching the final consumer are safe for consumption and comply with European food safety standards.

Its objective is to reduce the intake of nitrites and nitrates in the population and to minimize the presence of carcinogenic nitrosamines in food, in accordance with the opinions of the Scientific Committee on Food and the European Food Safety Authority.

The main changes introduced are:

• The maximum doses that can be added to various foods have been reduced. In meat products, the reduction ranges between 2% and 20%.
• The regulation sets a maximum allowable residual dose for the entire shelf life of the food. The previous legislation only considered residual doses in very specific cases. This introduces a double condition for most products: a maximum added dose and a maximum residual dose.
The latter must be monitored, as manufacturing processes such as the addition of spices, cooking, or drying can significantly alter the levels of these substances in the final product.

• Dosages are now calculated in terms of nitrite ion (NO₂⁻) or nitrate ion (NO₃⁻). The previous regulation referred to sodium salt concentrations in ppm, whereas the new regulation refers to the corresponding ion.

Conversion factors between salts and their ions are as follows:
1 unit of sodium nitrite (E-250, NaNO₂) = 0.67 units of NO₂⁻
1 unit of sodium nitrate (E-251, NaNO₃) = 0.73 units of NO₃⁻
1 unit of potassium nitrate (E-252, KNO₃) = 0.61 units of NO₃⁻

• A deadline of October 9, 2025, is established for the marketing of food products that do not comply with the new regulation. Once marketed, these products may remain valid until their expiration date.

• Stricter identity and purity criteria are set for this family of additives.

If you would like more detailed information on how Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2108 affects our specific products and how we plan to comply with these new regulations, please do not hesitate to contact our company.