Silliker, the leading international provider of food safety and quality assurance services, announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Organic Education Solutions to provide organic training and consulting services to manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and other stakeholders.Organic Education Solutions was formed by the executive team of Organic Concepts LLC, which provides operational, regulatory and strategic guidance to support organic certification goals. Sales of organic food and non-food products reached $24.6 billion in the U.S. in 2008. Organic food and beverage sales grew 15% over 2007, compared to 5% for conventional food, according to the Organic Trade Association. Manufacturers and retailers are responding to consumers by creating new certified products, adding private label lines and co-manufacturers – all of which must operate under an Organic System Plan and in compliance with USDA National Organic Program (NOP) regulations.To support growing organic training needs, Organic Concepts launched the new company, Organic Education Solutions LLC (OES). Silliker, a leading provider of education services for the food industry, will serve as the primary distributor of OES training products. OES will unveil their initial products and materials at the Natural Products Expo West in March.