During a visit in Iowa Tuesday, Presidential hopeful Michelle Bachmann said the food industry is over-regulated. She visited a family-owned meat packing plant in Des Moines. She argued that Americans want safety but also common sense.

She warned against regulatory “overkill” and said regulations can be so complex, that they become expensive to the point of putting companies out of business.

This comes at a time when the region is dealing with concerns about listeria infected cantaloupe that came from a large farm in Colorado. Just over a year ago, two Iowa egg farms were shut down after its products were found to contain salmonella.

Last week, the U.S. Agriculture Department announced it would expand testing of E. coli in meat to hasten recalls of tainted products and help officials identify more foodborne illnesses. At the end of 2010, Congress passed a sweeping food safety bill that was sparked by recalls of tainted peanuts and other food products. Bachmann voted against the bill.