States protect people from bad eggs.

• Position: On First Reading

Do you remember the old M*A*S*H* episode with the bad eggs? The actors accurately portrayed the symptoms--diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, nausea and vomiting.

In real life, children, the elderly and people with an impaired immune system could face even more severe consequences.

Fortunately 10 states, accounting for 35 percent of the nation's egg production, have taken the initiative to protect citizens from Salmonella enteritis, a bacteria that can be found in eggs.

The states, including California, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, have begun a voluntary egg safety program that has significantly reduced illnesses and has resulted in calls for a nationwide program.

Reported cases of salmonella poisoning fell by 22 percent after the standards were implemented, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study. In some states infection rates dropped by half or more within seven years.

Participating farms comply with a number of sanitation and testing standards. And some states...