Third-party audits: What the food industry really needs

摘要

In the beginning, there was the food plant. And the plant manager saw that it was good. However, as things became more complex and problems arose, the plant manager realized he needed help to solve problems. So he hired the consultant, who fixed things. And the plant manager saw that it was good. And, as business grew, the plant manager realized that he needed to improve, so he hired a consultant with special skills in finding not only solutions to problems, but ways to improve. And the operation improved. And the plant manager saw that it was good. Businesses saw that there was money to be made in offering services, so they created their own standards and imposed these standards on people with whom they worked—standards that included hundreds of questions and were generic to the entire food industry. And, as the food plant's commerce continued to grow, the plant manager was told by his customers and clients to abandon those who had helped the company grow. "Thou shall have an audit," they said, and the businesses imposed their standards on his plant. And the plant manager saw that it was not good for his operation...