CHICO, CA - Word of a new venture has made its way across our industry, as respected organic industry advisors Gwendolyn Wyard and Kim Dietz are coming together to launch a new business. The two industry experts have debuted Strengthening Organic Systems (SOS), an advisory firm focused entirely on organic fraud prevention, supply chain investigations, and compliance with the United States Department of Agriculture’s organic anti-fraud regulations.
“As long-time leaders and regulatory experts in the organic space, we are excited to help organic businesses implement measures to ensure the authenticity of the organic ingredients and products they are buying and selling,” said Dietz. “SOS will use its expertise to support the new requirements of the federal organic standards and help set certifying agencies and companies throughout the organic supply chain up for success.”
Wyard and Dietz have over 65 years of combined experience in organic policy, certification, and leadership.
As the company explained in a press release, the new venture was formed with the goal of strengthening the resilience and overall integrity of global organic supply chains by assisting businesses in developing effective organic fraud prevention plans and compliance practices. Its immediate area of concentration will be the support of the implementation of the Agriculture Department’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) rule, the sweeping and historic update to U.S. organic regulations announced by the federal government earlier this year to better deter and detect organic fraud.
“The importance of the Agriculture Department’s SOE rule for the organic sector cannot be emphasized enough, and now is the time to get it right,” added Wyard. “Our company was formed to guide organic businesses through the SOE implementation process, and to assure not only the adoption of robust organic fraud prevention plans but to assist in supply chain mapping and the identification of high-risk ingredients and other supply-chain vulnerabilities.”
Strengthening Organic Systems has been recently named a Trusted Advisor for the Organic Trade Association’s Organic Fraud Prevention Solutions. A Trusted Advisor is a category of professional qualified to advise and assist companies with the trade association’s anti-fraud program. Advisors can go in-depth with enrolled participants to carry out a vulnerability assessment and develop an Organic Fraud Prevention Plan, a requirement of the SOE Rule.
To read more about the new venture and the distinguished leaders behind it, click here.
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