On June 6, 2025, celebrations were held for the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the National Veterinary Research Institute in Puławy.

The Jubilee was held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, on whose behalf Professor Dariusz Dudek Dariusz Dudek, Advisor to the President, awarded 14 employees of the Institute with Crosses of Merit: The Gold Cross of Merit was awarded to: Professor Krzysztof Kwiatek and Professor Andrzej Posyniak. The Silver Cross of Merit was awarded to: Professor Dariusz Jan Bednarek Professor Tomasz Cencek Professor Mirosław Paweł Polak Professor Michał Reichert Professor Jerzy Rola and Dr. Grzegorz Tomczyk, Institute Professor. The Bronze Cross of Merit was awarded to: Professor Katarzyna Domańska-Blicharz, Dr. Wojciech Kozdruń, Institute Professor, Dr. Jolanta Grażyna Rola, Institute Professor Professor Artur Rzeżutka, Dr. Krzysztof Śmietanka, Institute Professor, and Prof. dr hab. Dariusz Wasyl.

Dr. Czesław Siekierski – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, participated in the celebrations. The Minister thanked the employees of PIWet-PIB for their dedication and hard work, which has a real impact on the food and health safety of all Poles. He wished the Institute many more years of success, innovation, and development – to continue to be a model of professionalism and pioneering scientific activity. On the occasion of the jubilee, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture awarded the honorary badge “Meritorious for Agriculture” to 14 PIWet-PIB employees: Dr. Jan Żelazny, M.Sc. Małgorzata Bąk, Dr. Małgorzata Lisiowska, Dr. Marcin Smreczak, Institute Professor, Dr. Magdalena Larska, Institute Professor, Dr. Andrzej Fitzner, Institute Professor, Dr. Marzena Rola-Łuszczak, Institute Professor, Dr. Katarzyna Podgórska, Dr. Jacek Karamon, Institute Professor, Prof. dr hab. Kamila Mitrowska, M.Sc. Wacław Dutkiewicz, M.Sc. Agata Wawer, M.Sc. Monika Banaszek-Urban, and Eng. Adrian Skorupski. The Director of the Institute, Prof. dr hab. Stanisław Winiarczyk, delivered a lecture on the history, present day, and the plans and challenges facing the institution. The Director honored employees with the longest tenure with diplomas of recognition.

The ceremony was an opportunity to open the Institute’s newest investment – a conventional animal facility, which was inaugurated by the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jacek Czerniak. The ceremony was also attended by the Director of the Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Wojciech Wojtyra, the Deputy Director of the Department of Innovation, Digitalization, and Knowledge Transfer, Marcin Tomaszewski, as well as Dr. Krzysztof Jażdżewski, the Chief Veterinary Officer, and numerous representatives of provincial and local authorities. Representatives of the National Chamber of Veterinary Medicine and Faculties of Veterinary Medicine from all over Poland were also present.

A lecture on food safety in the context of changes occurring in the modern world was delivered by EFSA representative Dr. Frank Verdonck.