Andrzej Benkowski
Technical Manager, Probiotics & Dietary Supplements
As the Technical Manager at Eurofins Center of Excellence for Probiotics, Andrzej Benkowski brings over 18 years of expertise in biotics quality management, testing, and technology. With a strong technical background in food microbiology, Andrzej specializes in contract R&D, method development, and pioneering technologies for probiotic evaluation.
Since 2019, Andrzej has chaired the International Probiotic Association (IPA) Technical Committee and has been a member of the IPA Board of Directors since early 2024. He also contributes to the IPA Postbiotics Committee and has served as the IPA expert liaison with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC34/SC9 Working Group 11 since 2022, co-convening their Enumeration Subgroup.
Andrzej is dedicated to advancing the biotics industry by setting rigorous standards and driving innovation with a focus on quality.
Outside of his professional and scientific achievements, Andrzej is a member of the Eurofins Madison Site Employee Engagement Team and manages the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program for the site. A founding member of the funk band Steez, he also plays saxophone, synthesizers, and vocals. Andrzej enjoys the outdoors, spending time with his family, and pretending to be a coffee aficionado. Additionally, he has a passion for collecting sneakers and fitted hats.
Below are resources from Andrzej:
Food fraud, also known as economically motivated adulteration, is widespread worldwide. Food fraud involves deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of food, food ingredients or food packaging, labeling, product information or false or misleading statements made about a product for economic gain. Food fraud can adversely impact consumer health, product quality, and brand reputation.
Learn more about the similarities and differences between the terms: fraud, defense, authenticity, and adulteration when it comes to foods, ingredients, and supplements.
What really is dietary fiber according to the most recent FDA regulations? This blog will help break down the FDA’s most recent definition of fiber as well as provide examples of ingredients used in the industry today.
Your goal is to manufacture a safe product that meets the claims on your label.
How are you ensuring that your finished product will do this?
Proactively, or retroactively?
Putting a proactive plan in place to assess ingredient safety and quality is key to producing finished products that meet all of your quality standards. Having a partnership with an accredited, independent (third-party) laboratory just in case something goes wrong is a must.
Validation of aseptic fillers intended for the production of low-acid, shelf-stable products is a core requirement of the FDA’s low-acid canned food (LACF) regulations (21CFR113 and 108.35). Microbiological challenges of the aseptic zone and packaging material sterilization cycles are important components of the validation process. These challenges are often conducted at the production site using non-pathogenic surrogate organisms that mimic the resistance of the pertinent target pathogen. This presentation will provide a brief history of the use of such surrogates for the validation of low-acid aseptic fillers along with the approach we have used to qualify the surrogates as adequate for the intended technology.”
New options for sweetening low-sugar foods have entered the market. Testing of sweetener ingredients and the finished product is key.
While many vitamins are traditionally sourced from animal products, plant-based vitamin sources are a growing trend. Learn more about this new trend and what this means in regard to testing your products.
Method validation, method verification and fitness for purpose all seem similar, but each requires a distinct level of evaluation and different considerations. Learn more about their similarities and differences in this article.
Candies can now give you more than a sugar rush. Functional chocolates also have vitamins, minerals, and botanicals and with that means the need for suitable validated methods to verify claims. Eurofins is your partner is all challenging vitamin, mineral, and botanical testing in finished products and raw materials.
Is Front-of-Package Labeling right for you? Learn how Front-of-Package Labeling affects nutritional value and market sales, and how Eurofins can help with testing your products and generating nutritional and dietary supplement facts panels.
