In the coming days, President  Barack Obama plans to announce a new commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration and establish a ''stricter regulatory structure'' to prevent breakdowns in food-safety inspections, according to the Associated Press.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration has been alarmed by the ongoing salmonella outbreak, attributed to peanut butter products, which has sickened more than 500 people and contributed to the deaths of eight.

We applaud the White House's response and will report on developments here as they occur.

UPDATE: The New Yorks Times is reporting that a criminal investigation into the source of the salmonella outbreak is being conducted jointly by the Food and Drug Administration and the Justice Department, according to Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the F.D.A.’s food center.

The investigation will focus on "the actions of the Peanut Corporation of America, which knowingly sold contaminated peanut butter and peanut products to major food makers," the newspaper wrote.