Using novel 1998–2008 data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on foodborne illnesses and outbreaks, we test using a difference‐in‐differences approach whether the Food and Drug Administration's proposed rule entitled “Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production” decreased the number of Salmonella illnesses associated with the consumption of shell eggs. We find that this rule led to a reduction in the number of Salmonella illnesses of between 308 and 434 illnesses per year, which we attribute to a reduction in the number of outbreaks associated with egg‐containing products rather than a reduction in the average number of illnesses reported in each outbreak.