[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 102 (Wednesday, May 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31737-31739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11269]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2020-0018]
Notice of Request for Renewal of an Approved Information
Collection (In-Home Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Web-
Based Survey)
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to request
renewal of the approved information for an exploratory Web-based survey
of consumers to evaluate food safety education and communication
activities and to inform the development of food safety communication
products. There are no changes to the existing information collection.
The approval for this information collection will expire on October 31,
2020.
DATES: Submit comments on or before July 27, 2020.
ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested persons to submit comments on this
Federal Register notice. Comments may be submitted by one of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: This website provides
commenters the ability to type short comments directly into the comment
field on the web page or to attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions at that
site for submitting comments.
Mail, including CD-ROMs, etc.: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 3758, Room 6065, Washington, DC 20250-
3700.
Hand- or courier-delivered submittals: Deliver to 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Instructions: All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must
include the Agency name and docket number FSIS-2020-0018. Comments
received in response to this docket will be made available for public
inspection and posted without change, including any personal
information, to http://www.regulations.gov.
Docket: For access to background documents or comments received,
call (202) 720-5627 to schedule a time to visit the FSIS Docket Room at
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina Kouba, Office of Policy and
Program Development, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA, 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065, South Building, Washington, DC
20250-3700; (202) 720-5627.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: In-Home Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Web-
Based Survey.
OMB Number: 0583-0178.
Expiration Date of Approval: 10/31/2020.
Type of Request: Renewal of an approved information collection.
Abstract: FSIS has been delegated the authority to exercise the
functions of the Secretary (7 CFR 2.18, 2.53) as specified in the
Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601, et seq.), the
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451, et seq.) and the
Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21 U.S.C. 1031, et seq.). These
statutes mandate that FSIS protect the public by verifying that meat,
poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome, unadulterated, and
properly labeled and packaged.
FSIS's Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education (OPACE)
develops consumer education programs concerning the safe handling,
preparation, and storage of meat, poultry, and processed egg products,
so as to improve consumer food handling behaviors and minimize the
incidence of foodborne illness. OPACE shares its food safety messages
through various outlets: The Food Safe Families campaign, a cooperative
effort of USDA, Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention; Ask USDA; the Meat and Poultry Hotline, an
interactive knowledge management system consumers can use to get
answers from USDA employees via phone, chat, email and a frequently
asked question database; the FSIS website; social media; and public
events. These messages are focused on the four core food safety
behaviors: Clean, separate, cook, and chill.
By testing planned and tailoring existing communication programs
and materials, FSIS can help to ensure that it is effectively
communicating with the public to improve consumer food safety
practices. As part of ongoing activities by OPACE to develop and
evaluate its public health education and communication activities, FSIS
is
[[Page 31738]]
requesting renewal of the approved information collection to conduct
exploratory Web-based surveys of consumers. Findings from these surveys
will provide information about how FSIS communication programs and
materials affect consumer understanding of recommended safe food
handling practices, as well as insight into how to effectively inform
consumers about recommended practices. The findings will be used to
enhance communication programs and materials developed to improve
consumers' food safety behaviors and help prevent foodborne illness.
Additionally, this research will provide useful information for
tracking progress toward the goals outlined in the FSIS Fiscal Years
2017-2021 Strategic Plan.
FSIS has contracted with RTI International to conduct two
iterations of a web-based survey. The first survey was conducted in
Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 and the second survey will be conducted in FY
2021. Each iteration of the exploratory survey is designed to collect
information from 2,400 randomly selected English-speaking adult members
of a probability-based Web-enabled research panel maintained by a
subcontractor.
The survey is designed to be representative of the U.S. adult
population. This representation is achieved through address-based
sampling (ABS), where every U.S. adult with an address (including those
who do not have a landline phone number) has an equal probability of
being selected for participation on the panel. A random sample of
individuals will be selected from the panel for participation in the
survey. A pilot will be conducted before the survey to test the survey
instrument and procedures.
The first iteration of the survey collected information on consumer
use of and response to the Meat and Poultry Hotline, consumer awareness
of The Food Safe Families campaign, and consumer behaviors for
preparing raw meat and poultry products. The second iteration of the
survey will pilot a food safety literacy measure on consumers'
awareness and understanding of recommended food safety practices and
gather nationally representative data on updates to FSIS' recall
templates used to communicate life-saving public health information to
the public and the media.
Estimate of Burden: The total estimated burden for each iteration
of the survey is 978.2 hours, for a total burden of 1,956.4 hours. To
achieve 80 completed surveys during the pretest, 146 randomly selected
panel members will be invited via email to take the survey. To achieve
2,400 completed surveys during the full-scale study, 4,400 randomly
selected panel members will be invited via email to take the survey.
Therefore, a total of 4,546 (146 + 4,400) potential panel members will
be invited to participate in both the pretest and the full-scale study
for each iteration of the survey. The invitation email for the pretest
and the full-scale survey is expected to take 2 minutes (0.03333 hour).
Each survey is expected to take 20 minutes (0.33333 hours) to complete.
Estimated Annual Reporting Burden for the FY 2019 Web-Based Consumer Survey
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Annual
Study component number of frequency per Total annual Hours per Total hours
respondents response responses response
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Pretest Invitation............ 146 1 146 0.03333 (2 min.) 4.87
Pretest 1..................... 80 1 80 0.33333 (20 26.67
min.).
Survey Invitation............. 4,400 1 4,400 0.03333 (2 min.) 146.67
Survey 1...................... 2,400 1 2,400 0.33333 (20 800
min.).
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Total..................... 4,546 .............. .............. ................ 978.2
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1 A subset of the people who received the invitation.
Estimated Annual Reporting Burden for the FY 2021 Web-Based Consumer Survey
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Annual
Study component number of frequency per Total annual Hours per Total hours
respondents response responses response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretest Invitation............ 146 1 146 0.03333 (2 min.) 4.87
Pretest 1..................... 80 1 80 0.033333 (20 26.67
min.).
Survey Invitation............. 4,400 1 4,400 0.03333 (2 min.) 146.67
Survey 1...................... 2,400 1 2,400 0.033333 (20 800
min.).
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Total..................... 4,546 .............. .............. ................ 978.2
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1 A subset of the people who received the invitation.
Respondents: Consumers.
Estimated No. of Respondents: 9,092.
Estimated No. of Annual Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 1,956.4 hours.
Copies of this information collection assessment can be obtained
from Gina Kouba, Office of Policy and Program Development, Food Safety
and Inspection Service, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065,
South Building, Washington, DC 20250-3700; (202) 720-5627.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of FSIS's
functions, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of FSIS's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
method and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information, including through
the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques, or other forms of information
technology. Comments may be sent to both FSIS, at the addresses
provided above, and the Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
[[Page 31739]]
Management and Budget (OMB), Washington, DC 20253.
Responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of
public record.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, FSIS will announce this Federal
Register publication on-line through the FSIS web page located at:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register.
FSIS will also announce and provide a link to this Federal Register
publication through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to
provide information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations,
Federal Register notices, FSIS public meetings, and other types of
information that could affect or would be of interest to our
constituents and stakeholders. The Constituent Update is available on
the FSIS web page. Through the web page, FSIS can provide information
to a much broader, more diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an
email subscription service which provides automatic and customized
access to selected food safety news and information. This service is
available at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/subscribe. Options range from
recalls to export information, regulations, directives, and notices.
Customers can add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the
option to password protect their accounts.
USDA Non-Discrimination Statement
No agency, officer, or employee of the USDA shall, on the grounds
of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual
orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status,
income derived from a public assistance program, or political beliefs,
exclude from participation in, deny the benefits of, or subject to
discrimination any person in the United States under any program or
activity conducted by the USDA.
How To File a Complaint of Discrimination
To file a complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program
Discrimination Complaint Form, which may be accessed online at http://www.ocio.usda.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2012/Complain_combined_6_8_12.pdf, or write a letter signed by you or your
authorized representative.
Send your completed complaint form or letter to USDA by mail, fax,
or email:
Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of
Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410.
Fax: (202) 690-7442.
Email: [email protected].
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.), should contact
USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
Paul Kiecker,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-11269 Filed 5-26-20; 8:45 am]
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