What To Know about USDA’s New Organic Regulations
Since taking effect March 19, the Strengthening Organic Enforcement rules have caught many companies off guard. Find out if your business must now be certified.
May 20, 2024 | Source: New Hope Network | by Dawn Reiss
When the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) regulations went into effect March 19, many processors, producers, distributors, handlers, brokers, traders and exporters didn’t realize their companies needed to become certified organic to comply with the rule.
Wendy Johnson, director of safety and corporate compliance at Nelson-Jameson, a Wisconsin-based single-source supplier for food, dairy and beverage processing plants, almost made that mistake. Luckily, she caught it in time.
“I didn’t think that our company really fell under the ruling,” Johnson says. “We’re not a processor. We don’t open and repack anything. We’re basically a pass-through. We buy it from the manufacturers, put it on our shelves and we send it out the door.”
But after talking to Oregon Tilth, an organic certifier in Corvallis, Oregon, and a few other experts, Johnson realized she needed to get Nelson-Jameson certified to comply with SOE.