[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]
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