The Food and Drug Administration is planning to inspect the country's largest egg farms before the end of next year following the massive recall that has sickened as many as 1,500 people.
An Obama administration official says inspectors will visit about 600 large egg farms that produce 80 percent of the nation's eggs. The official official spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been announced. Most of those farms have gone largely uninspected for decades.
The FDA's plan for heightened inspections came after more than half a billion eggs linked to cases of salmonella poisoning were recalled from two Iowa farms this month. The inspections will be conducted as part of new FDA rules put in place this July to prevent salmonella in shell eggs.
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Online:
Food and Drug Administration: http://tinyurl.com/25ot6ss
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://tinyurl.com/27lla8y
Foodsafety.gov: http://www.foodsafety.gov
Egg Safety Center industry recall information: http://www.eggsafety.org
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