First Edition, April 2018 - This document on hygienic and aseptic filling machines for liquid products (foods as well as beverages) replaces EHEDG documents 3, 11 and 21. It gives guidance to manage and to monitor hygienic risks related to this kind of machines. This guideline gives guidance for selecting the appropriate machine class and determines the machine class according to design principles implemented. It includes a summary of decontamination requirements and gives an overview on microbiological tests used when qualifying hygienic filling machines.