WASHINGTON — Food and Drug Administration chief Margaret Hamburg, beset with an egg-and-salmonella food safety challenge, said this morning the agency must move from a reactive to preventive enforcement strategy.

Giving a series of network interviews in the wake of some 1,300 salmonella cases from tainted eggs, Hamburg said the FDA is taking the issue "very, very seriously." At the same time, she said Congress should pass pending legislation that would provide her agency with greater enforcement power, including new authority over imported food.

"We need better abilities and authorities to put in place these preventive controls and hold companies accountable," Hamburg said as she discussed the salmonella poisoning outbreak and the recall of roughly a half-billion eggs from two Iowa egg distributors.

She also had some practical advice for consumers: Reject overeasy eggs. She said consumers should strictly avoid "runny egg yolks for mopping up with toast."

The number of illnesses, which can be life-threatening, especially to those with weakened immune systems, is expected to increase.

Two Iowa farms linked to the disease outbreak — Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms — share suppliers of chickens and feed as well as ties to an Iowa business with a history of violating state and federal law.

By The Associated Press