[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55079-55081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25099]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2017-0042]


Notice of Request for a New Information Collection: Food Safety 
Behaviors and Consumer Education: Focus Group Research

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 from focus groups on consumer food safety knowledge, 
attitudes, and practices and to elicit consumer responses to FSIS food 
safety messages and determine their impact on consumer food safety 
knowledge and behavior.

DATES: Submit comments on or before January 19, 2018.

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-2017-0042. 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: Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Focus Group 
Research.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Abstract: FSIS has been delegated the authority to exercise the 
functions of the Secretary (7 CFR 2.18, 2.53) as specified in the 
Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601, et seq.), and the 
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451, et seq.). FSIS 
protects the public by verifying that meat and poultry products are 
safe, wholesome, not adulterated, and correctly labeled and packaged.
    FSIS'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 inform the public how to safely handle, prepare, and 
store meat, poultry, and processed egg products so

[[Page 55080]]

as to minimize incidence of foodborne illness.
    OPACE strives to continuously increase consumer awareness of 
recommended food safety practices and 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 [FDA], and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
[CDC]); social media; AskKaren (an online database of frequently asked 
food safety questions); the FSIS Web site; FoodSafety.gov (a Web site 
operated by FSIS, FDA and CDC used to promote safe food handling to 
consumers); the Meat and Poultry Hotline; and various publications and 
events. These messages are focused on the four core food safety 
behaviors: Clean, separate, cook, and chill.
    By testing planned and tailoring existing consumer messaging, FSIS 
can better ensure that it is effectively communicating with the public 
to improve consumer food safety practices. Findings from the proposed 
focus group research will provide insight into how to effectively 
inform consumers about recommended safe food handling practices. The 
results of this research will be used to enhance messaging to improve 
consumers' food safety behaviors and help prevent foodborne illness.
    To collect information on consumer food safety knowledge, 
attitudes, and practices, and to elicit consumer responses to FSIS food 
safety messages and determine their impact on consumer food safety 
knowledge and behavior, FSIS is requesting approval for a new 
information collection to conduct consumer focus groups. Focus groups 
are typically used for developing and testing health communication 
messages. Qualitative research is particularly useful in studies such 
as this one, in which the research is exploratory in nature. These 
findings help provide insight and direction into the topics of interest 
and provide an understanding of the target audience's attitudes and 
behaviors.
    FSIS has contracted with RTI International to conduct two series of 
focus groups with adults. Each series will include 16 focus groups. The 
first series will be conducted in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, and the second 
series will be conducted in FY 2020.
    In FY 2018, two sets of focus groups will be conducted, with eight 
groups per set. The first set of focus groups (Set 1) in FY 2018 will 
be conducted with parents who have children younger than 18 years old. 
In Set 1, two focus groups will be conducted in each of four different 
locations. In each location, one group will be conducted with English-
speaking adults and one group with Spanish-speaking adults. The groups 
will be segmented by education level to increase the homogeneity of the 
groups.
    The second set of eight focus groups (Set 2) in FY 2018 will be 
conducted with English-speaking adults who have intentionally prepared 
meat or poultry dishes at home to be served undercooked or raw, such as 
chicken liver pate, hamburgers cooked rare or medium rare, kibbeh, raw 
meat sandwiches, or beef tartare. The groups will be segmented by type 
of food and conducted in locations where consumption of these foods is 
common based on ethnic, cultural, or other traditions.
    A second series of focus groups will be conducted in FY 2020 with a 
total of 16 focus groups. The topics for these groups have yet to be 
determined and will ultimately inform the development of communication 
campaigns on foodborne illness prevention.
    For each series of focus groups, a local market research company in 
each location will recruit potential participants from their databases 
and other sources. They will also provide the facilities for hosting 
the focus group discussions. Using convenience sampling, a non-
probability sampling technique where subjects are selected because of 
their convenient accessibility instead of random selection, the market 
research companies will recruit potential participants who meet the 
eligibility criteria as defined by the screening questionnaires.
    An experienced moderator will conduct the focus group discussions 
and use a facilitator guide, which will serve as an outline and provide 
structure for the focus group discussions. Each focus group discussion 
will be professionally recorded (audio and video) by the local market 
research companies. The audio-recordings will be professionally 
transcribed. The moderators will review the video-recordings and 
transcripts of the focus group discussions and prepare a detailed 
summary of each discussion. The moderators will then analyze the 
summaries to identify common themes and any exceptions to these themes. 
The contractor will summarize these findings in a final report to FSIS. 
No statistical analyses will be conducted.
    Estimate of Burden: For each series of 16 focus groups, it is 
expected that 1,280 individuals will complete the screening 
questionnaire, and it is assumed that 160 will be eligible and 
subsequently agree to participate in the focus group study (10 people 
per group). Each screening questionnaire is expected to take 8 minutes 
(0.133 hour). Taking part in the focus group discussion will take a 
total of 90 minutes (1.5 hours). For each series of 16 focus groups, 
the estimated annual reporting burden is 410.24 hours, which is the sum 
of the burden estimates for the screening and focus group discussion. 
For the two series of focus groups (32 groups total), the estimated 
total number of individuals to be screened is 2,560 (1,280 each year) 
and the estimated total number of individuals to take part in the focus 
group discussions is no more than 320 (160 each year). The estimated 
total burden for the two series of focus groups is 820.48 hours (410.24 
* 2).

                                           Estimated Annual Reporting Burden for the FY 2018 Focus Group 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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Screening questionnaire......................           1,280               1           1,280  0.133 (8 min.)...........................          170.24
Focus group discussion.......................             160               1             160  1.5 (90 min.)............................             240
                                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .........................................          410.24
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[[Page 55081]]


                                           Estimated Annual Reporting Burden for the FY 2020 Focus Group Study
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Estimated        Annual
               Study component                    number of     frequency per   Total annual              Hours per  response               Total hours
                                                 respondents      response        responses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Screening questionnaire......................           1,280               1           1,280  0.133 (8 min.)...........................          170.24
Focus group discussion.......................             160               1             160  1.5 (90 min.)............................             240
                                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .........................................          410.24
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    Respondents: Consumers.
    Estimated No. of Respondents: 2,560.
    Estimated No. of Annual Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 820.48 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 
method 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.

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: November 15, 2017.
Paul Kiecker,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-25099 Filed 11-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P