[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 161 (Friday, August 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50541-50543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21007]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 00N-1246]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Food Safety Survey
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that the
proposed collection of information listed below has been submitted to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Submit written comments on the collection of information by
September 18, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information to
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, New Executive
Office Bldg., 725 17th St. NW., rm. 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Attn:
Wendy Taylor, Desk Officer for FDA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Schlosburg, Office of
Information Resources Management (HFA-250), Food and Drug
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-1223.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, FDA has
submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for
review and clearance.
Food Safety Survey (OMB Control Number 0910-0345)--Extension
Under section 903(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. 393(b)(2)), FDA is authorized to conduct research relating
to foods and to conduct educational and public information programs
relating to the safety of the nation's food supply. FDA is planning to
conduct a consumer survey about food safety under this authority. The
food safety survey will provide information about consumers' food
safety awareness, knowledge, concerns, and practices. A nationally
representative sample of 2,000 adults in households with telephones and
cooking facilities will be selected at random and interviewed by
telephone. Participation will be voluntary. Detailed information will
be obtained about risk perception, perceived sources of food
contamination, knowledge of particular microorganisms, safe care label
use, food handling practices, consumption of raw foods from animals,
information sources, and perceived foodborne illness and food allergy
experience.
Most of the questions to be asked are identical to ones asked in
the 1998 Food Safety Survey. Because of recent national consumer
education campaigns about food safety and the large amount of media
attention to food safety issues
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in the past few years, consumer attitudes, knowledge, and practices are
likely to have changed greatly since the 1998 survey. FDA needs current
information to support consumer education programs and regulatory
development. In addition, FDA needs information from the consumer
perspective on several new areas related to food safety. New areas
include attitudes toward: Genetically modified foods, irradiated foods,
and organically grown foods; handling of leftovers and foods associated
with listeria monocytogenes contamination; washing practices for fresh
fruits and vegetables; reaction to warning statements on unpasteurized
juice and to handling statements on eggs; disability status; and
perceived food allergy.
In the Federal Register of May 2, 2000 (65 FR 25491), the agency
requested comments on the proposed collection of information. Four
comments were received. All comments responded to the third statement
on which FDA invited comments: Ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be collected.
Two comments were related to the questions about irradiation of
food, one from a consumer group, and the other from industry. One
comment does not want the survey to imply that all irradiated food is
required to be labeled. It states that FDA misleads consumers when it
states or implies that irradiated foods are labeled, because irradiated
foods intended for further processing or cooking are not labeled at the
consumer level, and herbs, spices, and some seasonings are never
labeled.
The second comment urges FDA to include additional questions to
probe consumer attitudes on irradiation and the irradiation label,
given the changes in this arena in the past few years. One example
provided is approval and marketing of irradiated meat, and the positive
media coverage of this process. It provides a specific question from
the literature and points out that if we ask the same question, we
would have a comparison over time. The question would follow the
current question measuring perceived safety of irradiated foods. That
specific question is this: ``Irradiation has been approved as safe by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. How does this affect your
opinion?'' (Answers: less concerned, same opinion, or more concerned.)
Both comments were concerned about the placement of the irradiation
questions, immediately after a section on food safety problems and in a
section of perceived sources of contamination. One states that such
placement might lead consumers to think that FDA has doubts of the
safety of irradiation. It recommends placing the irradiation questions
in the section on cooking and other methods to control foodborne
pathogens. Both comments asked that FDA publish or provide them with a
final copy of the survey.
The agency is not persuaded that the comment about labeling of
irradiated food is germane to the survey because none of the questions
on the survey mention labeling of irradiated foods; the labeling aspect
of the irradiation issue is beyond the scope of the survey.
The agency is not persuaded that the specifically recommended
question is appropriate in the context of the current survey; such
detailed attitude questions are beyond the scope of the data collection
objectives. However, the comment requesting that additional questions
be asked about irradiated foods raises the issue of whether FDA will
obtain sufficient information from the current questions. Analysis of
the current question will provide certain detailed information. For
example, the distribution of characteristics and of information sources
of those who have given beliefs about irradiated foods can be compared
with the distributions of those with more or less food safety
knowledge, as measured in other sections. The agency is exploring
whether its information needs require further questions about
consumers' prior knowledge and assumptions. Any additional questions
will be determined in time to incorporate them into the final
questionnaire, along with any other changes required by comments to
this notice.
The agency agrees that the irradiated questions are better asked in
a different section; they will be moved to follow Section K of the
questionnaire entitled ``Information Sources''. The agency will provide
a copy of the final survey to all interested parties who so request.
Another comment urges FDA to use the survey to address the issue of
consumer misinformation regarding organic foods. The comment is
concerned that Americans are misled by organic labels, and in
particular will be misled by the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) organic seal, to believe that organic foods are
safer, more nutritious, or otherwise better in some way than
conventional foods.
Testing of any specific label statements is outside the scope of
the survey, and gathering specific information about the USDA seal for
organic foods is inappropriate at this time, before the seal has been
finalized. However, like the request for more information about
consumer understanding of irradiated foods, this comment raises the
issue of whether the agency will obtain sufficient information about
consumers' knowledge and assumptions related to organic foods, and the
agency has a similar response. FDA plans to perform analysis of the
organic foods questions that will provide detailed information about
certain aspects of consumer knowledge and information sources. In light
of the comment, the agency is exploring whether its information needs
require further questions about consumers' prior knowledge and
assumptions, and any additional questions will be incorporated into the
final questionnaire along with any other changes required by comments
to the 30-day notice.
One comment is concerned about the list of foods that form the
response to several questions, including the questions that ask what
kinds of food the respondent thought were related to contamination by
particular micro-organisms, and, in the 1998 survey, to the question on
foods the respondent thinks of as high risk for food poisoning. The
concern is that the inclusion of ``mayonnaise or salads made with
mayonnaise'' will perpetuate the ``mayo myth'' that mayonnaise is a
high risk food. The comment approves of the question about eating raw
eggs that clearly distinguishes homemade mayonnaise from commercial
mayonnaise.
FDA is very much aware that commercial mayonnaise is not a high
food safety risk, and it is not treated as such in the survey. The
comment mistakenly assumed that the precoded list of foods that follows
several questions is read to the respondent, when it is not read. The
list is seen only by the interviewers, who need it in order to code the
response. ``Mayonnaise or salads made with mayonnaise'' is included as
a possible response because some consumers maintain the view that this
type of food is high risk. Over time, FDA will be able to track whether
this myth is diminishing. Meanwhile, commercial mayonnaise will not be
maligned in the survey. It is important to keep the item in the list so
that consumer beliefs about commercial mayonnaise can be measured. As
the comment notes, when mayonnaise is mentioned to respondents (as in
the eating raw egg question), a distinction is made between homemade
and commercial mayonnaise.
FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as
follows:
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Table 1.--Estimated Annual Reporting Burden\1\
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Annual
No. of Respondents Frequency per Total Annual Hours per Total Hours
Response Responses Response
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2,000 1 2,000 .5 1,000
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\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of
information.
The burden estimate is based on FDA's experience with the 1998
survey mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Dated: August 11, 2000.
William K. Hubbard,
Senior Associate Commissioner for Policy, Planning, and Legislation.
[FR Doc. 00-21007 Filed 8-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-F