The beginning of this article is heartbreaking. The man just loved cantaloupe! He died a horrifying death. And this is why:

During the past two decades, the food industry has taken over much of the FDA’s role in ensuring that what Americans eat is safe...

In 2011, the FDA inspected 6 percent of domestic food producers and just 0.4 percent of importers. The FDA has had no rules for how often food producers must be inspected.

The food industry hires for-profit inspection companies — known as third-party auditors — who aren’t required by law to meet any federal standards and have no government supervision.

...The private inspectors that companies select often check only those areas their clients ask them to review...

In some cases, for-hire auditors have financial ties to executives at companies they’re reviewing. AIB International Inc., a Manhattan, Kansas, auditor that awarded top marks to producers that sold toxic food, has had board members who are top managers at companies that are clients...

Executives of Flowers Foods Inc. (FLO), which makes Tastykake, and Grupo Bimbo SAB in Mexico City, which makes Entenmann’s pastries, Sara Lee baked goods and Wonder Bread, serve or have served on AIB’s board.

The article then descends into the nightmarish... you must read the whole thing.