[Federal Register: November 19, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 222)]
[Notices]
[Page 65033-65034]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19no07-56]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 2007N-0444]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Recordkeeping and Records Access Requirements for Food
Facilities
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,
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of
information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the
notice. This notice solicits comments on the information collection
provisions of FDA's recordkeeping and records access requirements for
food facilities.
DATES: Submit written or electronic comments on the collection of
information by January 18, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information
to: http://www.fda.gov/dockets/ecomments or 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: Jonna Capezzuto, Office of the Chief
Information Officer (HFA-250), Food and Drug Administration, 5600
Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-4659.
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
[[Page 65034]]
agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning
each proposed collection of information, including each proposed
extension of an existing 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.
Recordkeeping and Records Access Requirements for Food Facilities--21
CFR 1.337, 1.345, and 1.352 (OMB Control Number 0910-0560)--Extension
The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and
Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act) added section 414 of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) (21 U.S.C. 350c), which
requires that persons who manufacture, process, pack, hold, receive,
distribute, transport, or import food in the United States establish
and maintain records identifying the immediate previous sources and
immediate subsequent recipients of food. Sections 1.326 through 1.363
(21 CFR 1.326 through 1.363) of FDA's regulations set forth the
requirements for recordkeeping and records access. The requirement to
establish and maintain records improves FDA's ability to respond to,
and further contain, threats of serious adverse health consequences or
death to humans or animals from accidental or deliberate contamination
of food.
Description of Respondents: Persons that manufacture, process,
pack, hold, receive, distribute, transport, or import food in the
United States are required to establish and maintain records, including
persons that engage in both interstate and intrastate commerce.
FDA's regulations require that records for non-transporters include
the name and full contact information of sources, recipients, and
transporters, an adequate description of the food including the
quantity and packaging, and the receipt and shipping dates (Sec. Sec.
1.337 and 1.345). Required records for transporters include the names
of consignor and consignee, points of origin and destination, date of
shipment, number of packages, description of freight, route of movement
and name of each carrier participating in the transportation, and
transfer points through which shipment moved (Sec. 1.352). Existing
records may be used if they contain all of the required information and
are retained for the required time period.
FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as
follows:
Table 1.--Estimated Annual Recordkeeping Burden \1\
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No. of Annual Frequency of Total Annual
21 CFR Section Recordkeepers Recordkeeping Records Hours per Record Total Hours
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1.337, 1.345, and 1.352 (records maintenance) 379,493 1 379,493 13.228 5,020,000
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1.337, 1.345, and 1.352 (learning for new firms) 18,975 1 18,975 4.790 90,890
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Total 5,110,890
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\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.
This estimate is based on FDA's estimate of the number of
facilities affected by the final rule entitled ``Establishment and
Maintenance of Records Under the Public Health Security and
Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002,'' published in the
Federal Register of December 9, 2004 (69 FR 71562 at 71630). With
regard to records maintenance, FDA estimates that approximately 379,493
facilities will spend 13.228 hours collecting, recording, and checking
for accuracy of the limited amount of additional information required
by the regulations, for a total of 5,020,000 hours annually. In
addition, FDA estimates that new firms entering the affected businesses
will incur a burden from learning the regulatory requirements and
understanding the records required for compliance. In this regard, the
agency estimates the number of new firms entering the affected
businesses to be five percent (5%) of 379,493, or 18,975 firms. Thus,
FDA estimates that approximately 18,975 facilities will spend 4.790
hours learning about the recordkeeping and records access requirements,
for a total of 90,890 hours annually. Therefore, the total annual
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recordkeeping burden is estimated to be 5,110,890 hours.
Dated: November 13, 2007.
Jeffrey Shuren,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. E7-22480 Filed 11-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S