supportingstatement permit to transport undenatured inedible meat products 2019

SUPPORTING STATEMENT JUSTIFICATION FOR

PERMIT TO TRANSPORT UNDENATURED INEDIBLE MEAT PRODUCTS

1. Circumstances Making Collection Of Information Necessary:

This is a request for a new information collection for permits for applicants that want to transport undenatured inedible meat products.

FSIS has been delegated the authority to exercise the functions of the Secretary as provided in the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601, et. seq.). This statute mandates that FSIS protect the public by ensuring that meat products are wholesome, not adulterated, and properly labeled and packaged.

Under the regulations at 9 CFR 325.11 (e), official establishments are to apply in writing to their District Office to obtain a permit for the transport of undenatured inedible meat products in commerce.

2. How, By Whom and Purpose Information Is To Be Used:

Under the regulations, official establishments must complete an application that indicates the name and address of the applicant, a description of the type of business operations, and the purpose of making such application. Currently, official establishments write letters to their District Office that include the required information. There is no form or specific application document.

3. Use Of Improved Information Technology:

Under the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, applicants can submit application information to FSIS electronically. Records may be maintained electronically provided that appropriate controls are implemented to ensure the integrity of the electronic data. The Agency estimates that 100% of the paperwork will be done electronically.

4. Efforts To Identify Duplication:

No USDA agency, or any other Government agency, requires information from applicants that want to transport undenatured inedible meat products. There is no available information that can be used or modified.

5. Methods To Minimize Burden On Small Business Entities:

Data collected from small businesses are the same as for large ones. This information collection will affect approximately 60 small entities.

6. Consequences If Information Were Collected Less Frequently:

To conduct the information collections less frequently will reduce the effectiveness of the meat and poultry inspection program.

7. Circumstances That Would Cause The Information Collection To Be Conducted In A Manner:

• requiring respondents to report informa­tion to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a writ­ten response to a collection of infor­ma­tion in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any docu­ment;

• requiring respondents to retain re­cords, other than health, medical, governm­ent contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• in connection with a statisti­cal sur­vey, that is not de­signed to produce valid and reli­able results that can be general­ized to the uni­verse of study;

• requiring the use of a statis­tical data classi­fication that has not been re­vie­wed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confiden­tiali­ty that is not supported by au­thority estab­lished in statute or regu­la­tion, that is not sup­ported by dis­closure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unneces­sarily impedes shar­ing of data with other agencies for com­patible confiden­tial use; or

• requiring respondents to submit propri­etary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demon­strate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permit­ted by law.

There are no additional exceptions to the certification.

8. Consultation With Persons Outside The Agency:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, FSIS published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register (84 FR 35851) on July 25, 2019, requesting comments regarding this information collection request. FSIS received three comments, and in response, FSIS is developing a form that will facilitate the submission of the application information. This form will be presented for public comment with a proposed rule for permits to transport undenatured poultry products. FSIS also contacted several outside individuals, Jacqui Ortega (972-660-2071); Shelly McCurry (559-256-2793); and Kimberly Herinckx (760-412-3805), to request input on the FSIS burden estimates for the FSIS application for permit process. The outside individuals generally agreed that the FSIS burden estimate was accurate. Based on input from the commenters, the Agency is making no changes to the estimated burden.

9. Payment or Gifts to Respondents:

Respondents will not receive any gifts or payments.

10. Confidentiality Provided To Respondents:

No assurances other than routine protection provided under the Freedom of Information Act have been provided to respondents.

11. Questions Of A Sensitive Nature:

The applicants are not asked to furnish any information of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimate of Burden

The total burden estimate for the application requirements associated with this information collection is 87 hours.

FSIS estimates that 100 establishments will take 7 minutes, 1 time a year, to re-apply for a permit to transport undenatured inedible meat products, for a total of 100 responses and 12 hours.

PERMIT TO TRANSPORT UNDENATURED INEDIBLE MEAT PRODUCTS

                                                         9 CFR 325.11 (e)

Type of Establish- Ment	No. of Respon-dents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Total Annual Responses	Time for Response in Mins.	Total Annual Time in Hours
Ests.	100	1	100	7	12

FSIS estimates that 50 establishments will take 90 minutes, 1 time a year, to apply for a new permit to transport undenatured inedible meat products, for a total of 50 responses and 75 hours.

PERMIT TO TRANSPORT UNDENATURED INEDIBLE MEAT PRODUCTS

                                                         9 CFR 325.11 (e)

Type of Establish- Ment	No. of Respon-dents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Total Annual Responses	Time for Response in Mins.	Total Annual Time in Hours
Ests.	50	1	50	90	75

The cost to the respondents is estimated at $3,945 annually. The Agency estimates that it will cost respondents $45.35, including fringe benefits, in fulfilling these paperwork requirements. Respondents will spend an annual total of 87 hours and $3,945. The hourly rate for the respondents was attained from the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor and Statistics wage data, May, 2018.

13. Capital and Start-up Cost and Subsequent Maintenance

There are no capital and start-up costs and subsequent maintenance burdens.

14. Annual Cost To Federal Government And Respondents:

The cost to the Federal Government for these information collection requirements is ­­­­$2,630 annually. The costs arise primarily from the duties necessary to review applications and issue permits. The Agency estimates a cost of $45.35 per hour, including fringe benefits, for Agency personnel time.

15. Reasons For Changes In Burden:

FSIS was collecting application information for permits without approval and is claiming this as a violation. The collection has 150 respondents, 150 responses and 87 burden hours.

16. Tabulation, Analyses And Publication Plans:

There are no plans to publish the data for statistical use.

17. OMB Approval Number Display:

The OMB approval number will appear on required FSIS Forms.

18. Exceptions to the Certification:

There are no exceptions to the certification. This information collection accords with the certification in item 19 of the OMB 83-I.

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