[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92772-92774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30599]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2016-0036]


Notice of Request for a New Information Collection: In-Home Food 
Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Annual Observational Study

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 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and 
Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to collect 
information in the form of observational studies to inform the 
development of food safety communication products and to evaluate 
public health education and communication activities.

DATES: Submit comments on or before February 21, 2017.

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested persons to submit comments on this 
information collection. Comments may be submitted by one of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: This Web site provides the 
ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on this 
Web page or 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, Docket 
Clerk, Patriots Plaza 3, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Mailstop 3782, 
Room 8-163A, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
     Hand- or courier-delivered submittals: Deliver to Patriots 
Plaza 3, 355 E Street SW., Room 8-163A, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
    Instructions: All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must 
include the Agency name and docket number FSIS-2016-0036. 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, go 
to the FSIS Docket Room at Patriots Plaza 3, 355 E Street SW., Room 8-
164, Washington, DC 20250-3700 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday.

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: Annual Observational Study.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Abstract: FSIS has been delegated the authority to exercise the 
functions of the Secretary of Agriculture (7 CFR 2.18, 2.53) as 
specified in the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products 
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 453 et seq., 601 et seq.). FSIS protects the 
public by verifying that meat and poultry products are wholesome, not 
adulterated, and properly marked, labeled, and packaged.
    The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection 
Service's Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education (USDA, FSIS, 
OPACE) ensures that all segments of the farm-to-table chain receive 
valuable food safety information. The consumer education programs 
developed by OPACE's Food Safety Education Staff inform the public on 
how to safely handle, prepare, and store meat, poultry, and processed 
egg products to minimize incidence of foodborne illness.
    OPACE strives to continuously increase consumer awareness of 
recommended food safety practices with the intent to improve food-
handling behaviors at home. OPACE shares its messages through The Food 
Safe Families campaign (a cooperative effort of USDA, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention); other 
advertising; social media; AskKaren (an online database of frequently 
asked food safety questions); the FSIS Web site; the Meat and Poultry 
Hotline; publications; and events. These messages are focused on the 
four core food safety behaviors: Clean, separate, cook, and chill.
    To test new consumer messaging and tailor existing messaging, FSIS 
can help ensure that it is effectively communicating with the public 
and working to improve consumer food safety practices. This behavioral 
research will provide insight into the effect FSIS consumer outreach 
campaigns have on consumers' food safety behaviors. The results of this 
research will be used to enhance messaging and accompanying materials 
to improve their food safety behavior. Additionally, this research will 
provide useful information for tracking progress toward the goals 
outlined in the FSIS Fiscal Years 2017-2021 Strategic Plan.
    To inform the development of food safety communication products and 
to evaluate public health education and communication activities, FSIS 
is requesting approval for a new information collection to conduct 
observational studies using an experimental design. Previous research 
suggests that self-reported data (e.g., surveys) on consumers' food 
safety practices are unreliable, thus observational studies are a 
preferred approach for collecting information on consumers' actual food 
safety practices. These observational studies will help FSIS assess 
adherence to the four recommended food safety behaviors of clean, 
separate, cook, and chill, and to determine whether food safety 
messaging focused on those behaviors affects consumer food safety 
handling behaviors and whether consumers introduce cross-contamination 
during food preparation. For this 3-year study, FSIS plans to conduct 
an observational study each year and to focus on a different behavior, 
food and food preparation task, and food safety communication product 
each year. The initial study will examine participants' use of a food 
thermometer to determine if meat and poultry products are cooked to the 
proper temperatures. FSIS may decide to continue to conduct these 
studies annually, and if so, will request a renewal to extend the 
expiration date for the information collection request.
    FSIS has contracted with RTI International to conduct the 
observational studies. The observational studies will be conducted in 
North Carolina State University's test kitchen. Participants will be 
recruited using convenience sampling, and recruited participants will 
reflect the demographics of the U.S. population with regard to race, 
ethnicity, age, education, income, and household size. Using a fully 
randomized experimental design, participants will be assigned to a 
treatment or control group. Treatment participants will receive food 
safety messaging prior to the study, while control participants will 
receive messaging unrelated to food safety. Participants will be given 
ingredients and asked to prepare a meal consisting of ready to eat 
products and meat or

[[Page 92773]]

poultry products. Prior to meal preparation, the meat/poultry product 
will be inoculated with a harmless tracer bacterium or virus to assess 
the extent of cross-contamination. Researchers will video-record meal 
preparation. Trained researchers will subsequently view the videos and 
use a coding rubric to assess adherence to recommended practices and 
notational analysis to assess recorded actions and their frequency.
    Following food preparation, trained surface sample collectors will 
take surface swab samples from multiple sites within the test kitchen. 
The swabs will be plated at a laboratory to determine presence of the 
tracer bacterium or virus and concentration of the tracer if any is 
present. The presence of this tracer will indicate that cross-
contamination occurred during food preparation. The level of cross-
contamination will be compared across the sampling sites to determine 
the highest risk areas. Kitchen surfaces, appliances, and other 
potentially contaminated sites will be cleaned and sanitized after each 
participant in order to ensure that any bacterial samples collected 
were from the participant's behaviors.
    Participants will be asked to complete an interview after the 
observation to collect additional information on food handling 
practices and what they would do in particular situations when 
practices could not be observed. Certain relevant food handling 
practices are unable to be observed during the course of the in-person 
study; therefore, participants will be asked to provide information on 
these practices.
    Statistical analysis will be conducted comparing the differences in 
handling behavior scores between the treatment and control groups for 
the four food handling behaviors. A comparative analysis will also be 
conducted on the samples collected from the designated kitchen sites 
and food samples to determine whether levels of cross-contamination 
differed between the two groups, as well as to identify the kitchen 
sites with the highest levels of contamination. This information will 
help to determine whether the food safety communication products tested 
in the experimental study affect consumer food handling behavior and 
thus help OPACE refine existing materials or inform the development of 
new food safety communication products. Improving consumer food safety 
practices in the home may help to minimize incidence of foodborne 
illness.
    Estimate of Burden: Each year of the 3-year study, it is expected 
that 833 individuals will complete the web-based screener and it is 
assumed that 625 will be eligible and subsequently contacted by phone 
to schedule an appointment for the observation study. Of these, it is 
assumed that 500 will agree to take part in the study and schedule an 
appointment, and of these, it is assumed that 400 will show up and 
complete the observation study and interview. Each web-screening is 
expected to take 8 minutes (0.133 hour) and each phone call to schedule 
an appointment is expected to take 7 minutes (0.116 hour). Taking part 
in the observation study appointment will take a total of 120 minutes 
(2 hours): 15 minutes (0.25 hours) to obtain informed consent and 
provide exposure to the messaging, 90 minutes (1.5 hours) for the meal 
preparation/observation, and 15 minutes (0.25 hours) for the post-
observation interview. For each iteration of the study, the estimated 
annual reporting burden is 983.289 hours, which is the sum of the 
burden estimates for each component of the study (including the burden 
for consumers who initially completed the web-based survey but do not 
agree to participate or do not show up for the observation study). For 
a 3-year study the estimated total number of individuals to be screened 
is 2,499 (833 each year) and the estimated total number of individuals 
to complete the observation study is 1,200 (400 each year). The 
estimated total burden for the 3-year study is 2,949.867 hours (983.289 
*3).

                                     Estimated Annual Reporting Burden for Each Iteration of the Observational Study
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                                                  Estimated        Annual
               Study component                    number of     frequency per   Total annual              Hours per  response               Total hours
                                                 respondents      response        responses
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Web-based screening questionnaire............             833               1             833  0.133 (8 min.)...........................         110.789
Appointment phone script, confirmation email,             625               1             625  0.116 (7 min.)...........................            72.5
 reminder phone script.
Consent Form and Messaging...................             400               1             400  0.25 (15 min.)...........................           100.0
Food Preparation Task/Observation............             400               1             400  1.5 (90 min.)............................           600.0
Post-observation interview...................             400               1             400  0.25 (15 min.)...........................           100.0
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    Total....................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .........................................         983.289
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    Respondents: Consumers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,499.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 2,949.867 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 SW., Room 6077, South 
Building, Washington, DC 20250, (202) 690-6510.
    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 
methodology 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 Management and Budget, 
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.

[[Page 92774]]

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 also will make copies of this publication available 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 Update is available on the FSIS Web page. Through the 
Web page, FSIS is able to 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).

    Done at Washington, DC, on December 15, 2016.
Alfred V. Almanza,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-30599 Filed 12-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P