[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 52 (Monday, March 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9745-9747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2019-0004]


Notice of Request for a New Information Collection: In-Home Food 
Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Web-Based Survey

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 an exploratory Web-based survey of consumers 
to evaluate food safety education and communication activities and to 
inform the development of food safety communication products.

DATES: Submit comments on or before May 17, 2019.

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested persons to submit comments on this 
Federal Register notice. Comments may be submitted by one of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: This website provides 
commenters the ability to type short comments directly into the comment 
field on the web page or to 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, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 3758, Room 6065, Washington, DC 20250-
3700.
     Hand- or courier-delivered submittals: Deliver to 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
    Instructions: All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must 
include the Agency name and docket number FSIS-2019-0004. 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, 
call (202) 720-5627 to schedule a time to visit the FSIS Docket Room at 
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065, Washington, DC 20250-3700.

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: Web-
based Survey.
    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.), the 
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451, et seq.) and the 
Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21 U.S.C. 1031, et seq.). These 
statutes mandate that FSIS protect the public by verifying that meat, 
poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome, unadulterated, and 
properly labeled and packaged.
    FSIS's Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education (OPACE) 
develops consumer education programs concerning the safe handling, 
preparation, and storage of meat, poultry, and processed egg products, 
so as to improve consumer food handling behaviors and minimize the 
incidence of foodborne illness. OPACE shares its food safety 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 website; 
FoodSafety.gov (the cross-federal website 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 communication programs 
and materials, FSIS can help to ensure that it is effectively 
communicating with the public to improve consumer food safety 
practices. As part of ongoing activities by OPACE to develop and 
evaluate its public health education and communication activities, FSIS 
is requesting approval for a new information collection to conduct 
exploratory Web-based surveys of consumers. Findings from these surveys 
will provide information about how FSIS communication programs and 
materials affect consumer understanding of recommended safe food 
handling practices, as well as insight into how to effectively inform 
consumers about recommended practices. The findings will be used to 
enhance communication programs and materials to improve consumers' food 
safety behaviors and help prevent foodborne illness. Additionally, this 
research will provide useful information for tracking progress toward 
the goals outlined in the FSIS Fiscal Years 2017-2021 Strategic Plan.
    FSIS has contracted with RTI International to conduct two 
iterations of a web-based survey. The first survey will be conducted in 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 and the second survey will be conducted in FY 
2021. Each iteration of the exploratory survey will collect information 
from 2,400 randomly selected English-speaking adult members of a 
probability-based Web-enabled research panel maintained by a 
subcontractor.
    The survey is designed to be representative of the U.S. adult 
population. This representation is achieved through address-based 
sampling (ABS), where every U.S. adult with an address (including those 
who do not have a landline phone number) has an equal probability of 
being selected for participation on the panel. A random sample of 
individuals will be selected from the panel for participation in the 
survey. A pilot will be conducted before the survey to test the survey 
instrument and procedures.

[[Page 9746]]

    The first iteration of the survey will collect information on 
consumer use of and response to the Meat and Poultry Hotline, consumer 
awareness of The Food Safe Families campaign, and consumer behaviors 
for preparing raw meat and poultry products. The topics for the second 
iteration of the survey have not been determined and will ultimately 
inform OPACE's activities to develop and evaluate its public health 
education and communication activities.
    Estimate of Burden: The total estimated burden for each iteration 
of the survey is 978.2 hours, for a total burden of 1,956.4 hours. To 
achieve 80 completed surveys during the pretest, 146 randomly selected 
panel members will be invited via email to take the survey. To achieve 
2,400 completed surveys during the full-scale study, 4,400 randomly 
selected panel members will be invited via email to take the survey. 
Therefore, a total of 4,546 (146 + 4,400) will be invited to 
participate in both the pretest and the full-scale study for each 
iteration of the survey. The invitation email for the pretest and the 
full-scale survey is expected to take 2 minutes (0.03333 hour). Each 
survey is expected to take 20 minutes (0.33333 hours) to complete.

                                       Estimated Annual Reporting Burden for the FY 2019 Web-Based Consumer Survey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Estimated        Annual
               Study component                    number of     frequency per   Total annual               Hours per response               Total hours
                                                 respondents      response        responses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretest Invitation...........................             146               1             146  0.03333 (2 min.).........................            4.87
Pretest \1\..................................              80               1              80  0.33333 (20 min.)........................           26.67
Survey Invitation............................           4,400               1           4,400  0.03333 (2 min.).........................          146.67
Survey \1\...................................           2,400               1           2,400  0.33333 (20 min.)........................             800
                                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................................           4,546  ..............  ..............  .........................................           978.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\A subset of the people who received the invitation.


                                       Estimated Annual Reporting Burden for the FY 2021 Web-Based Consumer Survey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Estimated        Annual
               Study component                    number of     frequency per   Total annual               Hours per response               Total hours
                                                 respondents      response        responses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretest Invitation...........................             146               1             146  0.03333 (2 min.).........................            4.87
Pretest \1\..................................              80               1              80  0.33333 (20 min.)........................           26.67
Survey Invitation............................           4,400               1           4,400  0.03333 (2 min.).........................          146.67
Survey \1\...................................           2,400               1           2,400  0.33333 (20 min.)........................             800
                                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................................           4,546  ..............  ..............  .........................................           978.2
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\1\A subset of the people who received the invitation.

    Respondents: Consumers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 9,092.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 1,956.4 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 Avenue SW, Room 6065, 
South Building, Washington, DC 20250-3700; (202) 720-5627.
    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 also announce and provide a link to it 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 
Constituent Update is available on the FSIS web page. Through the web 
page, FSIS can 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,

[[Page 9747]]

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 in Washington, DC.
Carmen M. Rottenberg,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-04994 Filed 3-15-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P