More Egg Recalls Coming, FDA Warns

Even more eggs are likely to be recalled in the days ahead, the FDA announced today, enlarging an already massive recall that has affected half a billion eggs. "You have to wonder where the USDA and FDA inspectors were," say one attorney, telling MSNBC he's been retained by the families of dozens stricken with salmonella. In the face of the criticism, the FDA and USDA have issued new safety rules, changing their inspection procedures for egg farms, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Until now, the USDA alone was responsible for inspecting farms; now, the FDA will share that duty. The new rules "could have prevented" the outbreak, an FDA spokesman said. The chair of the House Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee meanwhile, has demanded to know what regulators knew about Jack DeCoster, the perennial offender who heads up the farms involved in the recall, according to the Washington Post.
(More egg recall stories.)