WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Food and Drug Administration said Monday her agency is taking the massive egg recall “very, very seriously,” but needs more enforcement powers.

Appearing on morning news shows, Margaret Hamburg urged passage of legislation pending in Congress that would give her agency significantly more authority to intervene in the area of food safety.

Hamburg also said the FDA wants to shift its focus to “a preventive approach” to identify problems in the food supply before they cause disease outbreaks.

“We need better abilities and authorities to

put in place these preventive controls and hold companies accountable,” Hamburg said on NBC’s “Today” show, in the wake of some 1,300 cases of salmonella poisoning and the recall of roughly a half-billion eggs from two Iowa distributors.

She also had some practical advice for consumers: Reject the over-easy cooking style. She said that as the investigation proceeds, there should be “no more runny egg yolks for mopping up with toast.” Hamburg also appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and CBS’s “The Early Show.”

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.

The number of illnesses, which can be life-threatening, especially to those with weakened immune systems, is expected to increase. The most common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever eight to 72 hours of eating a contaminated product.

Jewanna Porter, a spokeswoman for the egg industry, said Saturday the company Quality Egg supplies young chickens and feed to both Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. The two share other suppliers, she said, but she did not name them.

The egg industry has consolidated over recent years, placing fewer, larger businesses in control over much of the nation’s egg supply to consumers.

The salmonella outbreak has raised questions about federal inspections of egg farms. The FDA oversees inspections of shell eggs, while the Agriculture Department is in charge of inspecting other egg products.

William D. Marler, a Seattle attorney for a person who filed suit alleging illness from tainted eggs in a salad at a restaurant in Kenosha, Wis., said Sunday his firm has been retained by two dozen families and was representing a woman who was hospitalized in California.

Businessman Austin “Jack” DeCoster owns Wright County Egg and Quality Egg. Wright County Egg recalled 380 million eggs Aug. 13 after it was linked to more than 1,000 cases of salmonella poisoning. A week later, Hillandale Farms recalled 170 million eggs.