[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 229 (Friday, November 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70875-70876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28088]
[[Page 70875]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. FDA-2014-N-1904]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Comparing Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and
Behavior Among English-Dominant Hispanics, Spanish-Dominant Hispanics,
and Other Consumers
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing an
opportunity for public comment on our proposed collection of certain
information. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA),
Federal Agencies must publish a notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information and allow 60 days
for public comment. This notice invites comments on the proposed data
collection entitled ``Comparing Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and
Behavior Among English-Dominant Hispanics, Spanish-Dominant Hispanics,
and Other Consumers.''
DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection
of information by January 27, 2015.
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: FDA PRA Staff, Office of Operations,
Food and Drug Administration, 8455 Colesville Rd., COLE-14526, Silver
Spring, MD 20993-0002, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
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, we
are publishing this notice of the proposed collection of information
set forth in this document.
With respect to the following collection of information, we invite
comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of our functions,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the
accuracy of our 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.
Comparing Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior Among English-
Dominant Hispanics, Spanish-Dominant Hispanics, and Other Consumers--
(OMB Control Number 0910--NEW)
We conduct research and educational and public information programs
relating to food safety and nutrition under our broad statutory
authority, set forth in section 903(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (FD&C 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) of the FD&C Act (21
U.S.C. 393(d)(2)(C)), to conduct research relating to foods, drugs,
cosmetics, and devices.
Our current food safety education and outreach programs and
materials generally are developed and provided for the English-speaking
population in the United States (Ref. 1). To better protect public
health and to help consumers practice safe food handling, we need
empirical data on how different population groups understand, perceive,
and practice food safety and food handling. An emerging and important
demographic trend in the United States is the increase in Hispanics.
Recent estimates suggest that Hispanics (defined as those who identify
themselves as of Hispanic or Latino origin) are the largest and fastest
growing minority group in the nation; the proportion of the U.S.
population that was Hispanic was 14 percent in 2005 and is projected to
increase to 29 percent in 2050 (Ref. 2).
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate
that, in the past two decades, Hispanics were one of the population
groups that often experienced higher incidence rates (per 100,000
population) of bacterial causes of foodborne illness than Caucasians
(Ref. 3). These bacterial causes include Campylobacter, Listeria
monocytogenes, Shigella, and Salmonella. While some Hispanics living in
the United States use the English language exclusively, or more often
than Spanish (English-dominant Hispanics), other U.S. Hispanics
predominantly use the Spanish language in their daily lives (Spanish-
dominant Hispanics) (Ref. 4). Since most U.S. food labels, including
safe food handling instructions, are in English, Spanish-dominant
Hispanics' understanding and use of safe food handling instructions may
differ from that of English-dominant Hispanics and of non-Hispanics who
use English exclusively. In addition, Hispanics may have certain food
handling practices that may increase their risk of foodborne illness
(Ref. 5).
FDA needs an understanding of how different population groups
perceive and behave in terms of food safety and food handling to inform
possible measures that we may take to better protect public health and
to help consumers practice safe food handling. FDA is aware of no
consumer research on a nationwide level on how different population
groups understand, perceive, and practice food safety and food
handling. This study is intended to provide answers to research
questions such as whether and how much Spanish-dominant Hispanics,
English-dominant Hispanics, and English-speaking non-Hispanics differ
in their knowledge, attitude, and behavior toward food safety and food
handling among the three population groups, and the role that
demographic and other factors may play in any differences.
The proposed study will use a Web-based instrument to collect
information
[[Page 70876]]
from 3,000 adult members in online consumer panels maintained by a
contractor. The study plans to randomly select 800 panel members in
each of three groups: Spanish-dominant Hispanics, English-dominant
Hispanics, and English-speaking non-Hispanics. Both English and Spanish
questionnaires will be used, as appropriate. The study plans to include
topics such as: (1) Food safety knowledge and attitude and (2) food
handling and consumption practice. To help us understand the data, the
study will also collect information on respondents' background,
including, but not limited to, health status and demographic
characteristics, such as age, gender, education, and income, and degree
of acculturation among Hispanic respondents using a measure developed
by Marin, et al. (Ref. 6).
The study is part of our continuing effort to protect the public
health. We will not use the results of the study to develop population
estimates. We will use the results of the study to develop followup
quantitative and qualitative research to gauge the prevalence and
extent of differences in food safety knowledge and behaviors between
the three mentioned population groups. We will use the results of the
followup research to help inform the design of effective education and
outreach initiatives aimed at helping reduce the risk of foodborne
illness for the general U.S. population as well as Hispanics.
We estimate the burden of this collection of information as
follows:
Table 1--Estimated Annual Reporting Burden \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Activity Number of responses per Total annual Average burden Total hours
respondents respondent responses per response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cognitive interview screener.. 72 1 72 0.083 (5 6
minutes).
Cognitive interview........... 9 1 9 0.5 (30 minutes) 5
Pretest invitation............ 1,440 1 1,440 0.033 (2 48
minutes).
Pretest....................... 180 1 180 0.25 (15 45
minutes).
Study invitation.............. 24,000 1 24,000 0.033 (2 792
minutes).
Study......................... 3,000 1 3,000 0.25 (15 750
minutes).
------------------------------------------------ ---------------
Total..................... .............. .............. .............. ................ 1,646
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of
information.
We base our estimates on prior experience with research that is
similar to this proposed study. We will use a cognitive interview
screener with 72 individuals to recruit prospective interview
participants. We estimate that it will take a screener respondent
approximately 5 minutes (0.083 hours) to complete the cognitive
interview screener, for a total of 5.976 hours, rounded to 6 hours. We
will conduct cognitive interviews with nine participants. We estimate
that it will take a participant approximately 30 minutes to complete
the interview, for a total of 4.5 hours, rounded to 5 hours. We also
plan to conduct a pretest to identify and resolve potential survey
administration problems. We will send a pretest invitation to 1,440
prospective pretest participants and estimate that it will take a
respondent approximately 2 minutes (0.033 hours) to complete the
invitation, for a total of 47.52 hours, rounded to 48 hours. We will
administer the pretest with 180 participants and estimate that it will
take a participant 15 minutes (0.25 hours) to complete the pretest, for
a total of 45 hours. We will send a study invitation to 24,000
prospective participants and estimate that it will take a respondent
approximately 2 minutes (0.033 hours) to complete the invitation, for a
total of 792 hours. We will administer the study with 3,000
participants and estimate that it will take a participant 15 minutes
(0.25 hours) to complete the study, for a total of 750 hours. The total
estimated burden for all the study activities is 1,646 hours.
II. References
1. FDA. ``Foodborne Illness & Contaminants.'' June 9, 2014.
Available at http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/default.htm.
2. Passel, J. S. and D'V. Cohn. ``U.S. Population Projections: 2005-
2050.'' Pew Research Center. Washington, DC February 11, 2008.
Available at http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/85.pdf.
3. Quinlan, J. J. ``Foodborne Illness Incidence Rates and Food
Safety Risks for Populations of Low Socioeconomic Status and
Minority Race/Ethnicity: A Review of the Literature.'' International
Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10(8): 3634-
3652. 2013.
4. Taylor, P., M. H. Lopez, J. Mart[iacute]nez, and G. Velasco.
``Language Use Among Latinos.'' Pew Research Center. Washington, DC
April 4, 2012. Available at http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/04/iv-language-use-among-latinos/.
5. Henley, S. C., S. E. Stein, and J. J. Quinlan. ``Identification
of Unique Food Handling Practices That Could Represent Food Safety
Risks for Minority Consumers.'' Journal of Food Protection, 75:
2050-2054. 2012.
6. Marin, G., F. Sabogal, B. V. Marin, et al. ``Development of a
Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics.'' Hispanic Journal of
Behavioral Sciences, 9(2): 183-205. 1987.
Dated: November 21, 2014.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-28088 Filed 11-26-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P