[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 239 (Thursday, December 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67911-67913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26694]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 239 / Thursday, December 12, 2019 / 
Notices  

[[Page 67911]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2019-0026]


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

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 conduct focus 
groups with consumers to provide information to inform consumer 
education outreach efforts related to disseminating information to 
consumers about recalls and outbreaks and the labeling of meat and 
poultry products. This is a new information collection with an 
estimated burden of 411 hours.

DATES: Submit comments on or before February 10, 2020.

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-2019-0026. 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: Focus Group Research to Inform Consumer Food Safety 
Education and Outreach Efforts.
    OMB Control Number: 0583-XXXX.
    Type of Request: Request for a 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.). This 
statute mandates that FSIS protect the public by verifying that meat 
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 
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, the Food and 
Drug Administration [FDA], and the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention [CDC]); social media; Ask USDA (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, media releases, blogs and 
events. These messages are focused on the four core food safety 
behaviors: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.
    To collect information to inform OPACE's consumer education and 
outreach efforts, FSIS is requesting approval for a new information 
collection to conduct consumer focus groups. Focus group research is 
particularly useful in studies such as this one, because the research 
is exploratory in nature. This is a new information collection with an 
estimated burden of 411 hours.
    FSIS plans to conduct two sets of focus groups on different topics: 
(1) Consumer understanding and response to FSIS Recall Notices and 
Public Health Alerts and (2) consumer understanding and use of 
manufacturer cooking instructions on ready-to-eat (RTE) and not-ready-
to-eat (NRTE) meat and poultry products. FSIS has contracted with RTI 
International to conduct the two sets of focus groups. The focus group 
research will address Objective 1.2.3 of the FSIS Fiscal Years 2017-
2021 Strategic Plan (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/317d14d6-1759-448e-941a-de3cbff289e5/Strategic-Plan-2017-2021.pdf?MOD=AJPERES), which is to ``increase public awareness of 
recalls, foodborne illness, and safe food handling practices.''
    For the first focus group topic, consumer understanding and 
response to USDA Recall Notices and Public Health Alerts, the findings 
will help FSIS learn how consumers understand and respond to FSIS 
recall notices and public health alerts and provide information to 
inform possible modifications to USDA's procedures for communicating 
information to consumers on recalls and outbreaks. RTI International 
will conduct two focus groups in each of four locations for a total of 
eight groups. To increase the homogeneity of the groups, the groups 
will be segmented by education level (four groups with a high school 
education or less and four groups with some college or a college 
degree) and age (four groups with people aged 18-35 years and four 
groups with people aged 36 and older).
    For the second focus group topic, consumer understanding and use of 
manufacturer cooking instructions on RTE and NRTE meat and poultry

[[Page 67912]]

products, the findings will help FSIS better understand how consumers 
use manufacturer cooking instructions to prepare RTE and NRTE meat and 
poultry products. FSIS can use this information to assess whether 
revisions to FSIS-mandated labeling features are needed to ensure that 
consumers safely handle and prepare RTE and NRTE meat and poultry 
products. RTI International will conduct two focus groups in each of 
four locations for a total of eight groups. To increase the homogeneity 
of the groups, the groups will be segmented by education level (four 
groups with a high school education or less and four groups with some 
college or a college degree) and age (four groups with people aged 18-
35 years and four groups with people aged 36 and older).
    For each set 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 
nonprobability 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. RTI International will prepare detailed summaries of each 
discussion and review the summaries to identify common themes and any 
exceptions to these themes.
    RTI International will summarize these findings in a final report 
to FSIS. No statistical analyses will be conducted.
    Estimate of Burden: For the two sets of focus groups (8 groups per 
set for a total of 16 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). The estimated 
annual reporting burden for the two sets of focus groups is 410.24 
hours, which is the sum of the burden estimates for the screening and 
focus group discussion.

                                               Estimated Annual Reporting Burden for the 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.)...........................          170.66
Focus group discussion.......................             160               1             160  1.5 (90 min.)............................             240
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Total....................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .........................................          410.66
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Respondents: Consumers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,280.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 411 hours.
    Copies of this information 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 
(OMB), 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 will also announce and provide a link to this Federal Register 
publication 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, deny the benefits of, or subject to 
discrimination any person in the United States under any program or 
activity conducted by the USDA.

[[Page 67913]]

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).

Carmen M. Rottenberg,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-26694 Filed 12-11-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P