[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 117 (Friday, June 18, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34745-34746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14815]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0267]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Survey on Consumers' Emotional and Cognitive Reactions
to Food Recalls
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an
opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain
information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information and
to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This
notice solicits comments on a survey on Consumers' Emotional and
Cognitive Reactions to Food Recalls.
DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection
of information by August 17, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information
to http://www.regulations.gov. Submit written comments on the
collection of information to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-
305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061,
Rockville, MD 20852. All comments should be identified with the docket
number found in brackets in the heading of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denver Presley, Jr., Office of
Information Management, Food and Drug Administration, 1350 Piccard Dr.,
PI50-400B, Rockville, MD 20850, 301-796-3793.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal
agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor.
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR
1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A))
requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal
Register concerning each proposed collection of information before
submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this
requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection of
information set forth in this document.
With respect to the following collection of information, FDA
invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection
of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's
functions, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques, when
appropriate, and other forms of information technology.
Survey on Consumers' Emotional and Cognitive Reactions to Food
Recalls--21 U.S.C. 393(d)(2)(C) (OMB Control Number 0910-NEW)
I. Background
The proposed ``Survey on Consumers' Emotional and Cognitive
Reactions to Food Recalls'' will be conducted under a cooperative
agreement between the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition (JIFSAN) and the Center for Risk Communication Research at
the University of Maryland. JIFSAN was established in 1996 and is a
public and private partnership between FDA and the University of
Maryland. The Center for Risk Communication Research will design and
administer the study.
The proposed study will assess consumers' emotional and cognitive
recollection of certain food recalls and gauge how these recollections
affect their current perceptions about food recalls and their
inclination to adhere to future recommended food recall behaviors.
Existing data show that many consumers do not take appropriate
protective actions during a foodborne illness outbreak or food recall
(Refs. 1
[[Page 34746]]
and 2). For example, 41 percent of U.S. consumers say they have never
looked for any recalled product in their home (Ref. 2). Conversely,
some consumers overreact to the announcement of a foodborne illness
outbreak or food recall. In response to the 2006 fresh, bagged spinach
recall which followed a multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:
H7 infections (Ref. 3), 18 percent of consumers said they stopped
buying other bagged, fresh produce because of the spinach recall (Ref.
1).
Research shows that emotion plays a large role in decisionmaking,
and that individuals may not be conscious of its effects on their
behavior (Ref. 4). For example, when people are angry they are likely
to place blame, take action, and want justice to be served (Ref. 5). If
a particular food recall engenders widespread anger and the anger is
coupled with behavior that is less than desirable from a food safety or
nutritional standpoint, it is possible that anger will be the lens
through which future food recall situations are viewed, thus resulting
in similar undesirable behaviors. Findings from this study will help
FDA understand the emotional response to food recalls. This will help
FDA to design more effective consumer food recall messages during and
after a recall.
FDA conducts research and educational and public information
programs relating to food safety under its broad statutory authority,
set forth in section 903(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act (the act) (21 U.S.C. 393(b)(2)), to protect the public health by
ensuring that foods are ``safe, wholesome, sanitary, and properly
labeled,'' and in section 903(d)(2)(C), to conduct research relating to
foods, drugs, cosmetics, and devices in carrying out the act.
FDA plans to survey U.S. consumers using a Web-based panel of U.S.
households to collect information on consumers' cognitive and emotional
reaction to food recalls. The survey will query consumers on their
recollection of food recalls within the past 5 years; attitude toward
recalled foods; knowledge about particular food recalls; behavior
during the food recall; assessment and appraisals of susceptibility,
severity, satisfaction, and self-efficacy.
The data will be collected using an online survey. A pool of 10,000
consumers from a Web-based consumer panel will be screened for
eligibility based on age (18+ years) and familiarity with recent food
recalls. One thousand of those screened consumers will be randomly
selected to participate in the survey. The results of the survey will
not be used to generate population estimates.
FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as
follows:
Table 1.--Estimated Annual Reporting Burden\1\
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No. of Annual Frequency Total Annual Hours per
Activity Respondents per Response Responses Response Total Hours
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Screener 10,000 1 10,000 .006 60
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Pre-test 40 1 40 .167 7
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Survey 1,000 1 1,000 .167 167
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Total 11,040 1 11,040 ................. 234
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\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.
Ten thousand members of a Web-based consumer panel will be
screened. We estimate that it will take a respondent 20 seconds (.006
hours) to complete the screening questions, for a total of 60 hours. We
will conduct a pre-test of the survey with 40 respondents; we estimate
that it will take a respondent 10 minutes (.167 hours) to complete the
pre-test, for a total of 7 hours. One thousand (1,000) respondents will
complete the survey. We estimate that it will take a respondent 10
minutes (.167 hours) to complete the survey, for a total of 167 hours.
Thus, the total estimated burden is 234 hours.
II. References
1. Cuite, C., S. Condry, M. Nucci, et al., ``Public Response to
the Contaminated Spinach Recall of 2006,'' Publication number RR-
0107-013, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers, the State University of New
Jersey, Food Policy Institute, 2007.
2. Hallman, W., C. Cuite, and N. Hooker, ``Consumer Responses to
Food Recalls: 2009 National Survey Report,'' Publication number RR-
0109-018, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers, the State University of New
Jersey, Food Policy Institute, 2009.
3. Acheson, D., ``Outbreak of Escherichia coli 0157 Infections
Associated With Fresh Spinach--United States, August-September
2006,'' 2007 (http://first.fda.gov/cafdas/documents/Acheson_Spinach_Outbreak_2006_FDA_pres.ppt).
4. Han, S., J. S. Lerner, and D. Keltner, ``Feelings and
Consumer Decision Making: The Appraisal-Tendency Framework,''
Journal of Consumer Psychology, 17(3) 158-168, 2007.
5. Lazurus, R. S., ``Emotion and Adaptation,'' New York: Oxford
University Press, 1991.
Dated: June 14, 2010.
David Dorsey,
Acting Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Planning and Budget.
[FR Doc. 2010-14815 Filed 6-17-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S