Agriculture, with its various food safety and sustainable production standards now required by many retailers, is not the only industry subject to standards. Hundreds of national and international standards exist relating to all types of products from electrical three-prong plugs to paper sizes. International standards have been around for decades, says Ben Marchant, vice president of business development for NCSI Americas, Inc., the North American division of NCS International, a global certification body. “The idea back then was to develop standards to keep government out of industries and serve to level the playing field,” he said, adding that self-regulation is […]