[Federal Register: November 5, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 214)]
[Notices]
[Page 62609-62610]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05no03-89]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30 Day-81-03]
Public Comment and Recommendations Agency Forms Undergoing
Paperwork Reduction Act Review
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 498-1210. Send written
comments to CDC, Desk Officer, Human Resources and Housing Branch, New
Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503; or by fax
to (202) 395-6974. Written comments should be received within 30 days
of this notice.
Proposed Project: Willingness to Pay Project--NEW--Epidemiology
Program Office (EPO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The mission of the Prevention Effectiveness Branch is to provide
information and training to build internal and external capacity in
economic and decision sciences. We are requesting clearance for a
package that was submitted previously and withdrawn from the program.
This pilot project will use quantitative research to develop use
informational approaches (educational materials or product labeling) to
educate consumers about food safety issues, develop and test survey
instruments and test experimental protocols to be used in the main
quantitative data collection; the main data collection will be used to
provide nationally-representative estimates of consumers' willingness
to pay for (a) Publicly-provided reductions in the probability of
contracting foodborne illnesses; (b) reductions in severity of symptoms
associated with foodborne illnesses, and (c) materials that facilitate
private, defensive precautions against foodborne illness during home
food preparation (e.g., meat thermometers, antibacterial soaps and
cutting boards). The main data collection will also be used to estimate
the effect of education programs and product labeling on willingness to
pay for the reductions; compare the empirical estimates of the above
mentioned consumer willingness to pay derived from a conjoint analysis
instrument and a simulated marketplace experiment. Public awareness and
stated concern regarding foodborne illnesses have increased rapidly
over the past decade. The general public while seemingly well informed
and concerned about some relevant food safety issues appears
unknowledgeable or ill-informed about emerging issues. The Food Safety
Survey data suggest that information provided to consumers at the point
of purchase may be a fruitful means of educating the public about food
safety, and analyses of consumer purchase data indicate that health-
related information provided at the point of purchase can make
significant long-term changes in purchasing behavior. While providing
health-related information about food has been the focus of major
policy initiatives in the last few years, little empirical economic
research has attempted to understand the market and welfare effects of
different health information policies. In addition, previous research
does not address the distribution of effects across different
consumers. Policy makers and food manufacturers cannot provide labels
that satisfy everyone's information desires while simultaneously
catering to consumers' cognitive and time constraints. As a result,
policy makers need to understand how different sectors of the consumer
population will be affected, particularly those members of the
population who face relatively high food safety risks. The lack of
information hinders policy makers from making informed decisions on the
proper allocation of resources in this area since the benefits or
reducing the risk of illness are not well known. Not having the
information readily available makes cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit
analyses difficult to do as well as resource-intensive. This data
collection effort then will reduce this burden by making data available
to researchers for use in program and policy evaluation. If this data
collection effort were not to take place, agencies will either have to
continue to piece together data when conducting economic analyses of
food safety policies and regulations, or they will fund a large-scale
effort like the one being proposed. Another large-scale effort would be
a waste of public funds. Providing consumers information about
[[Page 62610]]
the risks and about protective measures allows consumers to more
accurately assess how much they would pay for reductions in this risk,
but more importantly, it also informs the consumer as to what the risks
are and how they can protect themselves. This information is important
since the consumer is the last line of defense in the campaign against
foodborne illnesses. The total burden hours are 1,000.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Instrument Number of responses/ Hours per
respondents respondent response
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail survey................... 3,000 1 20/60
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated: October 28, 2003.
Gaylon D. Morris,
Acting Director, Executive Secretariat, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-27796 Filed 11-4-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P