A substantial number of countries and private partners around the world participate in OPSON, a concerted effort of Europol and Interpol, established in 2011. OPSON operations protect public health and fight organized crime groups who are involved in the production and distribution of fraudulent food and beverages. More than 3,000 cases were detected, with alcohol, grains and condiments leading the statistics, at a total value of $130 million worth of products seized. Seventy-eight organized crime groups were uncovered, and more than 3,000 people arrested. Many of these subpar food and beverage products were a danger to health and life of humans and animals.
Susanne Kuehne joined Decernis in 2016 as senior manager, business development. She has 20+ years of experience in the chemicals, plastics, coatings and beverage spaces. Kuehne is located at the Washington, D.C. office, but is originally from the Stuttgart, Germany area. She studied chemistry and business in Germany, then worked for Grace GmbH in Worms, Germany before moving to the United States in 2000. She worked for Grace in the United States before joining the beverage industry for eight years. Kuehne’s focus is food contact and chemical industry clients world-wide, across the multiple disciplines Decernis covers.
Kuehne holds a Dipl.-Ing (FH) Farbe/Chemie from Fachhochschule fuer Druck, Stuttgart, and a Dipl.-Betriebswirt (FH) from AKAD Fachhochschule, Lahr.