Letter to OMB Requesting Emergency Approval

United States Department of Agriculture
Office of the Secretary
Washington, D.C. 20250

November 30, 2010

Cass R. Sunstein, Director
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
The Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Cass,
I am writing on behalf of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), United States
Department of Agriculture to request an emergency approval for an information collection as
part of an initial exploratory survey for the Food Safety Education Campaign. FSIS is seeking
an emergency approval for the collection because it is needed sooner than would be possible
using normal procedures and is essential to the agency’s mission. The campaign, a key
component of the President’s Food Safety Working Group, is a joint effort of the federal food
safety agencies and the Ad Council. Consumers are the last line of defense to prevent foodborne
illness. The campaign will provide the public with evidence-based tools to enable them to more
effectively combat foodborne illness.
FSIS has been delegated the authority to exercise the functions of the Secretary 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.). FSIS protects the public by verifying that meat, poultry, and
egg products are safe, wholesome, not adulterated, and correctly labeled and packaged.
FSIS has entered into a partnership with the Ad Council to launch a nationwide food
safety education campaign by July 2011. The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization
that marshals volunteer talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities
of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit communities to deliver critical
messages to the American public.
The initial exploratory survey needs to begin December 1, 2010 to develop and launch
the campaign within the scheduled timeframe; therefore, FSIS is seeking an emergency clearance
for this information collection. The Agency is also requesting that it be exempt from giving
public notice on this information collection. The corresponding supporting statements are
attached.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Because of the timing of this unique opportunity, FSIS could not have foreseen that this
collection would be necessary in time to use normal information collection approval procedures.
FSIS’s food safety education campaign was chosen by the Ad Council and a contract was agreed
to on September 30, 2010. The Ad Council selected JWT, the campaign’s advertising agency, in
October, and JWT and the Ad Council presented their campaign research plan in November. We
began discussions with OMB as soon as we were selected by the Ad Council.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can provide any additional information. Thank
you.

Sincerely,

Jerold R. Mande
Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety
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