Notice2024-17765
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 9, 2024
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled the Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net) Program. The goal of this food safety research program is to collect data in retail food establishments that will identify and address environmental factors associated with retail-related foodborne illness and outbreaks.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 154 (Friday, August 9, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65356-65358]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17765]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-24-0792; Docket No. CDC-2024-0058]
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and
Recommendations
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice with comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the
utility of government information, invites the general public and other
federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project
titled the Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net) Program.
The goal of this food safety research program is to collect data in
retail food establishments that will identify and address environmental
factors associated with retail-related foodborne illness and outbreaks.
DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before October 8, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2024-
0058 by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road
NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments
to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking
portal (<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>) or by U.S. mail to the address listed
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection
Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton
Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: 404-639-7570;
Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d3bcbeb193b0b7b0fdb4bca5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ddb2b0bf9dbeb9bef3bab2ab">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(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. In addition, the PRA also requires
federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information
collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a
proposed data collection as described below.
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the
[[Page 65357]]
functions of the agency, including whether the information will have
practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected;
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses; and
5. Assess information collection costs.
Proposed Project
Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net) Program (OMB
Control No. 0920-0792, Exp. 1/31/2025)--Revision--National Center for
Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is requesting a three-year
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) approval for a Revision of this Generic
Clearance for data collections to support research focused on
identifying and addressing environmental factors associated with
foodborne illness outbreaks and other food safety issues. These data
are essential to environmental public health regulators' efforts to
respond more effectively to and prevent future outbreaks and food
safety-associated events.
An estimated 47.8 million foodborne illnesses occur annually in the
United States, resulting in 127,839 hospitalizations, and 3,037 deaths
annually. These figures indicate that foodborne illness is a
significant problem in the U.S. Reducing foodborne illness requires
identification and understanding of the environmental factors that
cause these illnesses--CDC needs to know how and why food becomes
contaminated with foodborne illness pathogens. This information can
then be used to determine effective food safety prevention methods.
Ultimately, these actions can lead to increased regulatory program
effectiveness and decreased foodborne illness. The purpose of this food
safety research program is to identify and understand environmental
factors associated with foodborne illness and outbreaks. This program
is conducted by the Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net),
a collaborative project of CDC, FDA, USDA, and local and state sites.
Environmental factors associated with foodborne illness include
both food safety practices (e.g., inadequate cleaning practices) and
the factors in the environment associated with those practices (e.g.,
worker and retail food establishment characteristics). To understand
these factors, we need to collect data from those who prepare food
(i.e., food workers) and on the environments in which the food is
prepared (i.e., retail food establishment kitchens). Thus, data
collection methods for this generic package include: (1) manager and
worker interviews/information collection instruments; and (2)
observation of kitchen environments. Both methods allow data collection
on food safety practices and environmental factors associated with
those practices.
To date, EHS-Net has conducted six studies under this generic
clearance. The data from these studies have been disseminated to
environmental public health/food safety regulatory programs and the
food industry in the form of presentations at conferences and meetings,
scientific journal publications, and website postings. Data from these
studies have been presented in thirteen articles in peer-reviewed
scientific journals, in multiple presentations at national food safety
conferences, and on CDC's website.
The current package is a Revision of the previous PRA clearance
from 2021. This package includes the potential for sites to offer
incentives to participants in EHS-Net data collection activities. This
will not result in an increased cost to the federal government because
the cost of incentives is included in the existing EHS-Net cooperative
agreement. CDC requests OMB approval for an estimated 844 annual burden
hours. There is no change in the estimated annualized burden hours from
the previous PRA clearance and there is no cost to respondents other
than their time to participate.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Average burden
Type of respondents Form name Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hours) (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retail managers.............. Manager 889 1 3/60 44
Telephone
Recruiting
Script.
Manager 400 1 30/60 200
Interview/
Assessment.
Observation..... 400 1 30/60 200
Retail food workers.......... Worker 2,000 1 2/60 67
Recruiting/
Informed
Consent Script.
Worker Interview/ 2,000 1 10/60 333
Assessment.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Total.................... ................ .............. ............... .............. 844
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 65358]]
Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health
Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-17765 Filed 8-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 9, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.