Today, the Food and Drug Administration published a final rule that will reduce the risk of salmonella contamination posed by shell eggs. The agency estimates the new regulation will prevent 79,000 illnesses and 30 deaths every year.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “That rule will require on-farm controls and expanded microbial testing to eliminate Salmonella Enteriditis in shell eggs.” The rule also requires producers to keep better records and to register with the FDA.

As I blogged on Tuesday, the Obama administration finalized the regulation as part of a broader food safety agenda that emphasizes the prevention of foodborne illness outbreaks. This rule is emblematic of that approach. For example, it requires producers to develop and implement a salmonella prevention plan.

The Obama administration should be commended for embracing prevention in the area of food safety. Too often, we read stories of regulators trying to play catch-up – searching for the origin of an outbreak after dozens or hundreds have already become sick. (Update: See what I mean?) A reactive system doesn’t benefit industry either. Last summer’s salmonella outbreak, initially but incorrectly attributed to tomatoes, cost the industry millions of dollars.

I hope the administration will apply this kind of common sense thinking elsewhere. Food safety is not the only area where regulators are behind in the count. Workers are subject to all kinds of risks that seem to only show up on the national radar after a tragedy. (Think about cranes crashing in Manhattan.) People are exposed to environmental contaminants that alter development or cause health problems in ways we don’t fully understand. (If you haven’t read Nicholas Kristof’s recent column on endocrine disruptors, do so immediately.)

Timeliness and prioritization are issues too. Although the Obama administration will receive much of the praise for setting and implementing the salmonella standard, it has actually been in the works for more than a decade. The Clinton administration published a notice on the issue in 1998, and the Bush administration formally proposed the rule in 2004. Even though the costs of the new requirements are negligible (less than one cent per dozen eggs), and even though the public health benefits are significant, the rule took a nauseatingly long time to complete.

For a detailed (but not too detailed) account of the requirements of the rule, check pages 5 and 6 of the PDF. The rule goes into effect September 8, 2009.

Image by Flickr user nickwheeleroz, used under a Creative Commons license.