[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 117 (Friday, June 18, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34745-34746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14815]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0267]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Survey on Consumers' Emotional and Cognitive Reactions 
to Food Recalls

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an 
opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain 
information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information and 
to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This 
notice solicits comments on a survey on Consumers' Emotional and 
Cognitive Reactions to Food Recalls.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection 
of information by August 17, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information 
to http://www.regulations.gov. Submit written comments on the 
collection of information to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-
305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, 
Rockville, MD 20852. All comments should be identified with the docket 
number found in brackets in the heading of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denver Presley, Jr., Office of 
Information Management, Food and Drug Administration, 1350 Piccard Dr., 
PI50-400B, Rockville, MD 20850, 301-796-3793.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information before 
submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this 
requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection of 
information set forth in this document.
    With respect to the following collection of information, FDA 
invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's 
functions, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques, when 
appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

Survey on Consumers' Emotional and Cognitive Reactions to Food 
Recalls--21 U.S.C. 393(d)(2)(C) (OMB Control Number 0910-NEW)

I. Background

    The proposed ``Survey on Consumers' Emotional and Cognitive 
Reactions to Food Recalls'' will be conducted under a cooperative 
agreement between the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied 
Nutrition (JIFSAN) and the Center for Risk Communication Research at 
the University of Maryland. JIFSAN was established in 1996 and is a 
public and private partnership between FDA and the University of 
Maryland. The Center for Risk Communication Research will design and 
administer the study.
    The proposed study will assess consumers' emotional and cognitive 
recollection of certain food recalls and gauge how these recollections 
affect their current perceptions about food recalls and their 
inclination to adhere to future recommended food recall behaviors. 
Existing data show that many consumers do not take appropriate 
protective actions during a foodborne illness outbreak or food recall 
(Refs. 1

[[Page 34746]]

and 2). For example, 41 percent of U.S. consumers say they have never 
looked for any recalled product in their home (Ref. 2). Conversely, 
some consumers overreact to the announcement of a foodborne illness 
outbreak or food recall. In response to the 2006 fresh, bagged spinach 
recall which followed a multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157: 
H7 infections (Ref. 3), 18 percent of consumers said they stopped 
buying other bagged, fresh produce because of the spinach recall (Ref. 
1).
    Research shows that emotion plays a large role in decisionmaking, 
and that individuals may not be conscious of its effects on their 
behavior (Ref. 4). For example, when people are angry they are likely 
to place blame, take action, and want justice to be served (Ref. 5). If 
a particular food recall engenders widespread anger and the anger is 
coupled with behavior that is less than desirable from a food safety or 
nutritional standpoint, it is possible that anger will be the lens 
through which future food recall situations are viewed, thus resulting 
in similar undesirable behaviors. Findings from this study will help 
FDA understand the emotional response to food recalls. This will help 
FDA to design more effective consumer food recall messages during and 
after a recall.
    FDA conducts research and educational and public information 
programs relating to food safety under its broad statutory authority, 
set forth in section 903(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act (the act) (21 U.S.C. 393(b)(2)), to protect the public health by 
ensuring that foods are ``safe, wholesome, sanitary, and properly 
labeled,'' and in section 903(d)(2)(C), to conduct research relating to 
foods, drugs, cosmetics, and devices in carrying out the act.
    FDA plans to survey U.S. consumers using a Web-based panel of U.S. 
households to collect information on consumers' cognitive and emotional 
reaction to food recalls. The survey will query consumers on their 
recollection of food recalls within the past 5 years; attitude toward 
recalled foods; knowledge about particular food recalls; behavior 
during the food recall; assessment and appraisals of susceptibility, 
severity, satisfaction, and self-efficacy.
    The data will be collected using an online survey. A pool of 10,000 
consumers from a Web-based consumer panel will be screened for 
eligibility based on age (18+ years) and familiarity with recent food 
recalls. One thousand of those screened consumers will be randomly 
selected to participate in the survey. The results of the survey will 
not be used to generate population estimates.
    FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as 
follows:

                                                     Table 1.--Estimated Annual Reporting Burden\1\
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                                                              No. of         Annual Frequency       Total Annual        Hours per
                       Activity                            Respondents         per Response          Responses           Response         Total Hours
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Screener                                                           10,000                     1             10,000               .006                 60
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Pre-test                                                               40                     1                 40               .167                  7
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Survey                                                              1,000                     1              1,000               .167                167
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Total                                                              11,040                     1             11,040  .................                234
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\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.

    Ten thousand members of a Web-based consumer panel will be 
screened. We estimate that it will take a respondent 20 seconds (.006 
hours) to complete the screening questions, for a total of 60 hours. We 
will conduct a pre-test of the survey with 40 respondents; we estimate 
that it will take a respondent 10 minutes (.167 hours) to complete the 
pre-test, for a total of 7 hours. One thousand (1,000) respondents will 
complete the survey. We estimate that it will take a respondent 10 
minutes (.167 hours) to complete the survey, for a total of 167 hours. 
Thus, the total estimated burden is 234 hours.

II. References

    1. Cuite, C., S. Condry, M. Nucci, et al., ``Public Response to 
the Contaminated Spinach Recall of 2006,'' Publication number RR-
0107-013, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers, the State University of New 
Jersey, Food Policy Institute, 2007.
    2. Hallman, W., C. Cuite, and N. Hooker, ``Consumer Responses to 
Food Recalls: 2009 National Survey Report,'' Publication number RR-
0109-018, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers, the State University of New 
Jersey, Food Policy Institute, 2009.
    3. Acheson, D., ``Outbreak of Escherichia coli 0157 Infections 
Associated With Fresh Spinach--United States, August-September 
2006,'' 2007 (http://first.fda.gov/cafdas/documents/Acheson_Spinach_Outbreak_2006_FDA_pres.ppt).
    4. Han, S., J. S. Lerner, and D. Keltner, ``Feelings and 
Consumer Decision Making: The Appraisal-Tendency Framework,'' 
Journal of Consumer Psychology, 17(3) 158-168, 2007.
    5. Lazurus, R. S., ``Emotion and Adaptation,'' New York: Oxford 
University Press, 1991.

    Dated: June 14, 2010.
David Dorsey,
Acting Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Planning and Budget.
[FR Doc. 2010-14815 Filed 6-17-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S