Recently more than 600 people got salmonella poisoning, traced to a peanut-processing plant in Georgia.

In the past few weeks, more than 600 people in 43 states became ill, and officials finally figured out that they had all eaten peanut products infected by salmonella, a kind of bacteria. The problem was traced to one Georgia peanut-processing plant. Most of the illnesses have been caused by peanut-butter snack items made of products that came from the plant.

At a recent Senate hearing, senators discussed the need for better ways to protect the safety of our nation's food sources. One federal agency is in charge of keeping our food safe: the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. The FDA is supposed to provide rules for food growers and companies that process foods. They also do inspections and other checks to make sure these guidelines are being followed. But budget problems have made it hard for the FDA to keep up. The Georgia plant had not been inspected since 2001, and more recent state inspections had found problems with cleanliness at the plant. Why do you think the plant was allowed to continue operating? This wasn't the first large-scale case of food poisoning in recent years. Last year, thousands of Americans were sickened by salmonella, which was traced to fresh produce like tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. The nation's produce industry lost millions of dollars. And in 2006, many people became ill after eating bagged spinach. Why do you think it is so difficult to keep our food safe?