Sodium nitrite intake from meat in Poland
What it found
In a survey of 4,134 people in Poland, average sodium nitrite intake from meat products was below the acceptable daily intake, but some young children went over it.
The data came from people's diets and lab tests of meat products.
What they found
Studies in people
Average intake below ADI
The average daily sodium nitrite intake for all respondents was 0.012 mg/kg body weight per day, which was 12.1% of the ADI. In all age groups, average intake stayed below the ADI, ranging from 7.5% to 25.0% of it.
Some children over ADI
At the 95th percentile, boys and girls aged 1 to 3 went over the ADI, at 158.1% and 137.5% of it. In the group who ate the tested meat products, their 95th percentile values were 174% and 188% of the ADI.
Consumers only group
Among people who ate the tested meat products on the survey day, average sodium nitrite intake was 1.45 mg per person per day, or 24.6% of the ADI. The highest average, 2.0 mg per person per day, was in men aged 18 to 74.
Comparison with other countries
Sodium nitrite intake in Polish adolescents was 14% of the ADI, lower than 16.7% in France but higher than 7% for men and 3% for women in Denmark.
Other findings
Pork products main source
Pork products such as hams, sirloins and sausages provided 54% of the sodium nitrite in respondents' diets.
What the authors conclude
“A balanced and varied diet, with limited consumption of meat products will help diminish the risk of excessive intake of nitrites by consumers in Poland.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the estimated average intake of sodium nitrite from meat products in the Polish population was at a safe level, below the ADI.
- They note a potential risk for some consumers, especially children aged 1 to 3 years who eat a lot of processed meat relative to their body weight.
- They advise reducing processed meat consumption among children and spreading advice that a balanced, varied diet with limited processed meat can help lower the risk of excessive nitrite intake.
How it was done
Nitrites are used in meat products mainly to protect them from Clostridium botulinum bacteria, but intake should be limited because it may have a negative effect on health and is suspected to be carcinogenic to humans.
They estimated sodium nitrite intake in the diets of 4,134 people aged 1 to 96 in Poland, using daily food consumption data and lab tests of 88 meat products carried out in 2017 and 2018. They compared intake with the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for the whole group and for people who ate the tested meat products.
What it can’t tell you
- The study looked at sodium nitrite from meat products only, so total intake from other foods and drinking water may be higher.
- It cannot show whether sodium nitrite causes any health effect, only how much people took in compared with the ADI.
- The diet survey was from 2000, so eating habits may have changed since then.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- National Institute of Public Health NIH - National Research Institute, Poland
The paper
- Title
- Exposure of meat products to nitrites as food additives in Poland
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Stoś K, Wojda B, Ołtarzewski M, Gajda-Wyrębek J, Dmitruk M, Postupolski J (2025). Exposure of meat products to nitrites as food additives in Poland. Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine. doi:10.26444/aaem/200165Free full textPubMed 41025178DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error