[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64432-64434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23108]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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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. 87, No. 205 / Tuesday, October 25, 2022 / 
Notices  

[[Page 64432]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2022-0028]


Notice of Request for Revision of an Approved Information 
Collection (In-Home Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Web-
Based Survey)

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the FSIS is 
announcing its intention to request a revision of the approved 
information for 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. The 
revision is requested because the survey content has been modified to 
collect additional information on consumer awareness and understanding 
of Safe Handling Instructions and the USDA mark of inspection, food 
safety knowledge, food safety risk perceptions, preferences for 
receiving food safety information from FSIS, and perceptions of USDA. 
The approval for this information collection will expire on October 31, 
2023.

DATES: Submit comments on or before November 25, 2022.

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 
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions at that 
site for submitting comments.
     Mail: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW, Mailstop 3758, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
     Hand- or Courier-Delivered Submittals: Deliver to 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Jamie L. Whitten Building, Room 350-E, 
Washington, DC 20250-3700.
    Instructions: All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must 
include the Agency name and docket number FSIS-2022-0028. Comments 
received in response to this docket will be made available for public 
inspection and posted without change, including any personal 
information, to https://www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: For access to background documents or comments received, 
call (202)205-0495 to schedule a time to visit the FSIS Docket Room at 
1400 Independence Avenue SW, 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, Mailstop 3758, South Building, Washington, DC 
20250-3700; (202) 720-5627.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: In-Home Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Web-
Based Survey.
    OMB Number: 0583-0178.
    Expiration Date of Approval: 10/31/2023.
    Type of Request: Revision of an approved 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, and properly labeled and 
packaged.
    FSIS' Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education (OPACE) 
develops consumer education programs concerning the safe handling, 
preparation, and storage of meat, poultry, and egg products, to improve 
consumer food handling behaviors and minimize the incidence of 
foodborne illness. OPACE shares its messages through social media, the 
Meat and Poultry Hotline and Ask USDA (an online database of frequently 
asked food safety questions), the FSIS website, FoodSafety.gov, 
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 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 a revision 
of the approved 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 Strategic Plan.
    FSIS contracted with an independent consulting firm to conduct two 
iterations of a web-based survey. The first survey was conducted in 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 and the second survey will be conducted in FY 
2023. Each iteration of the exploratory survey is designed to collect 
information from 2,400 English-speaking adult members of a Web-enabled 
research panel maintained by a subcontractor. A pilot will be conducted 
before the survey to test the survey instrument and procedures.
    The first iteration of the survey collected 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 second

[[Page 64433]]

iteration of the survey will collect information on consumer awareness 
and understanding of Safe Handling Instructions and the USDA mark of 
inspection, food safety knowledge, food safety risk perceptions, 
preferences for receiving food safety information from FSIS, and 
perceptions of USDA.
    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 panel members will 
be invited via email to take the survey. To achieve 2,400 completed 
surveys during the full-scale study, 4,400 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       Total hours
                                  respondents      response        responses        response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretest Invitation............             146               1             146  0.03333(2 min.).            4.87
Pretest \1\...................              80               1              80  0.03333(20 min.)           26.67
Survey Invitation.............           4,400               1           4,400  0.03333(2 min.).          146.67
Survey \1\....................           2,400               1           2,400  0.03333(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 2023 Web-Based Consumer Survey
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Estimated        Annual
        Study component            number of     frequency per   Total annual       Hours per       Total hours
                                  respondents      response        responses        response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretest Invitation............             146               1             146  0.03333(2 min.).            4.87
Pretest \1\...................              80               1              80  0.03333(20 min.)           26.67
Survey Invitation.............           4,400               1           4,400  0.03333(2 min.).          146.67
Survey \1\....................           2,400               1           2,400  0.03333(20 min.)             800
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................           4,546  ..............  ..............  ................           978.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ A subset of the people who received the invitation.

    Respondents: Consumers.
    Estimated No. of Respondents: 9,092.
    Estimated No. 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' functions, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of FSIS' 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.

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: 
https://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: https://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's Non-Discrimination Statement

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, USDA, its 
Mission Areas, agencies, staff offices, employees, and institutions 
participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from 
discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, 
gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, 
disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived 
from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or 
retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity 
conducted or

[[Page 64434]]

funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and 
complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
    Program information may be made available in languages other than 
English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of 
communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large 
print, audiotape, American Sign Language) should contact the 
responsible Mission Area, agency, or staff office; the USDA TARGET 
Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY); or the Federal Relay Service 
at (800) 877-8339.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should 
complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, 
which can be obtained online at https://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/ad-3027, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a 
letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant's 
name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the 
alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the 
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date 
of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or 
letter must be submitted to USDA by:
    (1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20250-9410; or
    (2) Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
    (3) Email: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Paul Kiecker,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2022-23108 Filed 10-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P