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Annual Meeting of the Regional Section Poland
Hygienic Design in Focus
EHEDG Regional Section Poland’s Annual Meeting (13 October 2025) brought together industry and academia to share advances in hygienic design. Sessions covered stainless steel selection, antibacterial polymer coatings, risk assessment aligned with Guideline 58 and audits (BRC/IFS/FSSC 22000), hygienic maintenance of ageing equipment, water reuse, and welding guidelines, delivering insights to improve food safety.
A full‑day programme on hygienic design, risk assessment and sustainable processing
This event was hosted in Krakow by EHEDG Regional Section Poland, in collaboration with industry and academic experts.
Engineers, quality leaders, plant managers, auditors and equipment suppliers spent a full day exchanging the latest best practices in hygienic design and operations. From stainless‑steel selection and antibacterial coatings to Guideline 58 risk assessment, welding, maintenance of ageing assets, and water reuse — the meeting focused on practical solutions already being applied in facilities.
Key themes
- Safe, smart, and sustainable design choices that protect product quality
- Practical risk assessment methods aligned with EHEDG Guideline 58 and audit schemes (BRC, IFS, FSSC 22000)
- Material and surface technology advances (stainless steel, polymers, coatings)
- Hygienic maintenance strategies—balancing compliance, risk, and cost on aging equipment
- Efficient resource use, including water reuse in food & beverage plants
- Welding essentials: current status, technologies, and materials guided by EHEDG Welding Guidelines
Programme
- Opening of the conference — Adwy van den Berg (EHEDG) & Jędrzej Gajda (ATT)
- Hygienic stainless‑steel products — Krzysztof Kaczmarczyk (ATT)
- Methods of antibacterial protection for plastics and polymer coatings — Prof. dr hab. Szczepan Zapotoczny (Jagiellonian University)
- Safe, smart, sustainable: ensuring food safety & product quality through proper design — Patrick Wouters (EHEDG)
- Hygienic design of food‑plant structures — Jasper De Jaeger (Polysto)
- Hazard analysis & risk assessment in new and existing plants — insights from EHEDG Guideline 58 and implications for audits (BRC, IFS, FSSC 22000) — John Holah (Kersia Group)
- Hygienic maintenance: the cost of operating ageing equipment — Dimitri Tavernarakis (Mondelez)
- Water reuse in food & beverage production — Anett Winkler (Cargill)
- EHEDG Welding Guidelines: current status, challenges, technologies & materials — Peter Merhof (GEA)
- Conference closing — Hein Timmerman
Who attended
- Food & beverage manufacturers (QA/QC, production, engineering)
- Equipment manufacturers and integrators
Auditors, consultants, and academia focused on hygienic design and food safety
