An over-easy egg should make you un-easy — according to the head of the Food and Drug Administration. Margaret Hamburg says consumers should strictly avoid runny yolks, as investigators continue their probe of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened about 1,300 people. About a half billion eggs have been recalled from two Iowa egg distributors.

On the network morning news programs today, Hamburg also said the FDA needs to be able to take a more “preventive approach” to food safety issues, rather than simply reacting after the fact. Under current law, she says, there’s not much the FDA can do ahead of time.

Hamburg says Congress should approve pending legislation that would give the FDA greater enforcement power, and allow it to “hold companies accountable.”

The number of illnesses from the salmonella outbreak is expected to increase. AP