supporting statement ICR Nutrition Labeling 042020

SUPPORTING STATEMENT JUSTIFICATION FOR

NUTRITION LABELING OF MAJOR CUTS OF SINGLE-INGREDIENT RAW MEAT OR

POULTRY PRODUCTS AND GROUND OR CHOPPED MEAT AND POULTRY PRODUCTS

1. Circumstances Making Collection Of Information Necessary:

This is a request to renew the approved information collection for nutrition labeling of the major cuts of single-ingredient raw meat or poultry products and ground or chopped meat and poultry products.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (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.) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451, et seq.). These statutes mandate that FSIS protect the public by ensuring that meat and poultry products are safe, wholesome, unadulterated, and properly labeled and packaged.

FSIS requires nutrition labeling of the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products, unless an exemption applies. FSIS also requires nutrition labels on all ground or chopped meat and poultry products, with or without added seasonings, unless an exemption applies. Further, the nutrition labeling requirements for all ground or chopped meat and poultry products are consistent with the nutrition labeling requirements for multi-ingredient and heat processed products. (9 CFR 381.400(a), 9 CFR 317.300(a), 9 CFR 317.301(a), 9 CFR 381.401(a)).

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

The following is a discussion of the required information collection and recordkeeping activities.

Major Cuts of Single Ingredient Product

FSIS requires nutrition labeling on the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products, either on their label or at their point-of-purchase, unless an exemption applies. If the manufacturer provides nutrition information on the label of individual packages of the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat or poultry products, the retailer is not required to provide the information at the point-of-purchase. However, if the manufacturer does not provide the nutrition information on the label of these products, the retailer is required to provide the information at their point-of-purchase (9 CFR 317.300(a) & 381.400(a)).

FSIS estimates that all retailers would display point-of-purchase information for the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products, because this is an inexpensive means of providing nutrition information for multiple products and because this rule will not require that manufacturers include nutrition labels on the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products. There are a total or 38,220 burden hours associated with labeling major cuts of single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products.

Ground/Chopped Products

FSIS is requiring nutrition labels on all ground or chopped meat and poultry products, with or without added seasonings, unless an exemption applies. As part of routine duties, inspection program personnel will review these labels or labeling materials (9 CFR 317.301(a) & 381.401(a)).

Consumers will use this information to make better informed nutrition choices when purchasing these meat and poultry products. There are a total of 29,641 burden hours associated with labeling Ground/Chopped Products.                                  

3. Use Of Improved Information Technology:

Under the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, records may be maintained electronically provided that appropriate controls are implemented to ensure the integrity of the electronic data.

4. Efforts To Identify Duplication:

No USDA agency, or any other Government agency, requires information regarding exportation, transportation and importation of meat and poultry 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. For reasons of public health, the information collection must apply to all establishments slaughtering cattle. FSIS estimates that there are 50,000 small establishments.

6. Consequences If Information Were Collected Less Frequently:

To conduct the information collections less frequently will reduce the effectiveness of the meat 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.

Some establishments may submit nutrition labeling more than once a quarter. There are no other special circumstances that require the collection of information to be inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.6.

8. Consultation With Persons Outside The Agency:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, FSIS published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register (85 FR 7715; February 11, 2020). FSIS did not receive any comments on the information collection. The Agency also consulted with three outside persons regarding the information collection: Debbie Nece (316-858-5056); Tami Strickland (479-290-4032); and Robert Taylor (800-523-4559 ext 2236), to request input on the FSIS burden estimates. The three individuals agreed that the FSIS burden estimate for the information collection requirements related to nutrition labeling remains accurate.

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 estimated burden for this information collection is 68,755 burden hours.  The burden estimates are broken down into two categories described in the pages that follow.  

Major Cuts of Single Ingredient Product      38,220                 

Ground/Chopped Products                                         29,641

Total                                                                        67,861hours

Of the burden for ground/chopped products, the annual burden for recordkeeping is estimated at 1,853 hours.  The recurring burden for obtaining and replacing point of purchase information for major cuts of single ingredient product is 38,220 hours. 

The number of respondents below represents the number of parent companies affected by the regulations rather than the number of individual establishments or retail stores because nutrition labels are designed for company wide use.

Major Cuts of Single Ingredient Product

FSIS estimates that obtaining point-of-purchase materials and making them available for consumers will take an average of 30 minutes for 76,439¹ retail establishments for a total of 76,439 responses and 38,220 hours.

OBTAINING/DISPLAYING POINT OF PURCHASE MATERIALS

(9 CFR 317.300(a) & 381.400(a))

Type of Establish- Ment	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Total Annual Responses	Time for Response in Mins.	Total Recurring Time  Requirement in Hours
Retail ests.	76,439	1	76,439	30	38,220

Ground/Chopped Products 

 

FSIS estimates that 333 official establishments producing ground or chopped product will develop an average 6.6 labels to FSIS for approval; 326 grocery stores will develop 4.57 labels; and 13 warehouses will develop 1.33 labels. This will result in a total of 3,705 responses and 22,230 hours.   

DEVELOPMENT OF NUTRTION LABELS FOR GROUND/CHOPPED PRODUCTS

(9 CFR 317.301(a) & 381.401(a))

Type of Establish- Ment	No. of Respon-dents	No. of Res- ponses per Respondent	Total Annual Responses	Time for Response in Hours	Total Annual Time in Hours
Establish-ment	333	6.6	2,198	6	13,187
Grocery stores	326	4.57	1,490	6	8,939
Warehouse clubs	13	1.33	17	6	104
Total					22,230

FSIS estimates that it will take the same establishments identified above an average of 1.5 hours to prepare and submit the label for prior approval. This results in a paperwork burden of 5,558 hours.

          SUBMITTING LABEL APPROVAL--GROUND/CHOPPED PRODUCT

                             (9 CFR 317.301(a) & 381.401(a))

Type of Establish- ment	No. of Respon-dents	No. of Res- ponses per Respondent	Total Annual Responses	Time for Response in Hours	Total Annual Time in Hours
Establish-	333	6.6	2,198	1.5	3,297
Grocery stores	326	4.57	1,490	1.5	2,235
Warehouse clubs	13	1.33	17	1.5	26
Total					5,558

Grocery stores and warehouse clubs are not required to submit labels to FSIS for review.  All ground or chopped product will be subject to FSIS compliance review; therefore, producers of ground or chopped product, including retail facilities are required to maintain records to support the validity of nutrient declarations contained on product labels.  FSIS estimates the average time for recordkeeping for 672 firms is 30 minutes annually for a total of 3,705 responses and 1,853 hours. 

GROUND/CHOPPED PRODUCT RECORDKREEPING

(9 CFR 317.301(a) & 381.401(a))

Type of Establish- ment	No. of Respon-dents	No. of Res- ponses per Respondent	Total Annual Responses	Time for Response in Mins.	Total Annual Time in Hours
Establish-ment	333	6.6	2,198	30	1,099
Grocery stores	326	4.57	1,490	30	745
Warehouse clubs	13	1.33	17	30	9
Total					1,853

The Agency estimates that it will cost respondents $40.77 an hour, including fringe benefits, in fulfilling labeling recordkeeping requirements. The hourly wage rate for obtaining and replacing point of purchase information at retail establishments is $29.74, including fringe benefits. Based on these wage rates and the hourly requirements identified above, the cost to the respondents is estimated at $2,345,127 (40.77 x 29,641+ 29.74 x 38,220). 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 longer any capital and start-up costs.

14. Annual Cost To Federal Government:

The annual cost to the Federal Government for these information collection requirements is $453,500 annually. The cost estimate includes records review time of FSIS inspection personnel. The Agency estimates a cost of $45.35 per hour, including fringe benefits.

15. Reasons For Changes In Burden:

There is no change in burden in this renewal request. Annually, there are 67,861 hours, 76,439 respondents and 87,554 responses.

16. Tabulation, Analyses And Publication Plans:

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

17. OMB Approval Number Display:

FSIS will display the OMB approval number on any instructions it publishes relating to recordkeeping activities.

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.

1 The United States Census Bureau, 2012 SUSB Annual Data Tables by Establishment Industry, Data by Enterprise Receipt Size, Accessible at: http://www.census.gov/data/tables/2012/econ/susb/2012-susb-annual.html

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