2013 SUPPORTING STATEMENT
for
USDA Food Connect Website
OMB NO. 0581-0224
A. Justification.
EXPLAIN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAKE THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION NECESSARY. IDENTIFY ANY LEGAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS THAT NECESSITATE THE COLLECTION.
The information collection requirements in this request are necessary for the operation of the USDA Food Connect Website (previously known as the USDA Food and Commodity Connection Website), which operates pursuant to the authority of Section 32 of Public Law 320, Section 8 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1777), and the National School Lunch Program (7 CFR Part 210). The USDA Food Connect Website supports the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) mission of facilitating the efficient, fair marketing of U.S. agriculture products, providing assistance to States to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation’s children, and encouraging the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities. Registering to participate on or use the USDA Food Connect Website is voluntary.
The USDA Food Connect Website (www.foodconnect.usda.gov) was developed to assist the institutional food service community across the United States. The USDA Food Connect Website focuses on providing information that allows institutional food service professionals (e.g., public and private schools) to identify processors that can further process USDA supplied commodities (i.e., manufacture value-added foods) to best meet the school’s nutritional requirements. At the same time, the USDA Food Connect Website provides a platform for processors and brokers to post information about their commercial food products that are available for institutional food service purchase. The USDA Food Connect Website also allows food-related associations to provide information on their services and resources.
INDICATE HOW, BY WHOM, AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE THE INFORMATION IS TO BE USED. EXCEPT FOR A NEW COLLECTION, INDICATE THE ACTUAL USE THE AGENCY HAS MADE OF THE INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM THE CURRENT COLLECTION.
The USDA Food Connect Website will collect all information electronically upon registration. There are four primary types of users: institutional food service professionals, processors, brokers, and food-related associations. No information is collected from users accessing the web site as a guest. A guest is a user who visits the web site without registering and has access to approximately one-third of the website system functionality.
When a new user registers on the USDA Food Connect Website, they will be re-directed to the USDA eAuthentication web site to register their Level 1 Access (approved under OMB No. 0503-0014). Each new user must create a login ID and password to meet eAuthentication requirements. Once their eAuthentication account is completed, the new registrants will select their registration type: institutional food service professional (public and private schools), processor (manufacturer), broker, or association.
If the new user registers as an institutional food service professional, their registration page requires: the registrant’s first and last names; position; email address; telephone and fax numbers; school/company; address; city; state; zip code; and country. Institutional food service professionals are searchable on the site by school name, city, state, or zip code. Institutional food service professionals’ names, email addresses, telephone and fax numbers are collected so that the website administrators can update consumers on changes to the site.
If the new user registers as a processor, their registration page requires: the company’s eligibility to participate in Federal procurement; the registrant’s first and last names; position; email address; telephone number (the website administrator uses this information to contact the company if there are questions about their product data); company name; address; city; state; zip code; country; Uniform Code Council manufacturer ID; and whether or not the company supplies their products nationally or regionally. When the processor notes that the company is regional, they select the states they supply. Institutional food service professionals registered on the website can search for registered processors by company name and contact information.
Once the processor registers, they must register their manufacturing plant by providing the following information: the plant name, physical address, city, state/province, zip code, country, telephone and fax numbers, the mailing address if it differs from the physical address of the plant, and the first and last names, position, and email address of the plant sanitation inspection/audit point-of-contact.
After registering the plant, the producer must request an audit. To request an audit, the processor selects the type of audit necessary for the type of products they produce, indicating their Food Safety Inspection Service establishment number; if they produce products containing meat, poultry, or egg product; the Interstate Milk Shippers number for fluid milk products; or, the type of products they produce if they select an “other” audit. The website administrator uses this information to determine which USDA Certification Program will conduct the audit and verify the audit status. USDA, the United States Department of Commerce, National Marine Fishery Service, Seafood Inspection Program and United States Public Health Command (USPHC) (formally the United States Army Veterinary Command (VETCOM)) use the processors’ plant information to contact the plant for the audit required for participation in USDA Food Connect Website.
Once the processor requests the audit, they register their products. The product registration includes entering the name of the product and categorizing the product by product category and class. Institutional food service professionals can search for products by the product name, category, and class that the processor provided.
If the new user registers as a broker, their registration page requires: the registrant’s first and last names, position, e-mail address, telephone number (the website administrator uses this information to contact the brokerage if there are questions about their product data), brokerage company name, address, city, state, zip code, country, and the processor they represent. If the brokerage has more than one office, each branch office may be registered. Institutional food service professionals can search for registered brokers by the broker’s name, state(s) serviced, or zip code, and view the contact information the broker provided when they registered.
If the new user registers as a food-related association, their registration page requires: whether the association represents suppliers of food service groups providing food for human consumption, the association’s name, address, city, state, zip code, country, email address, telephone number (the website administrator uses this information to contact the association if there are questions about their association), and a description of association services. Institutional food service professionals can search for associations registered on the website by the association’s name, state(s) serviced, or zip code, and view the contact information the association provided when they registered.
DESCRIBE WHETHER, AND TO WHAT EXTENT, THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION INVOLVES THE USE OF AUTOMATED, ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICAL COLLECTION TECHNIQUES OR OTHER FORMS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, E.G. PERMITTING ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES, AND THE BASIS FOR THE DECISION FOR ADOPTING THIS MEANS OF COLLECTION. ALSO DESCRIBE ANY CONSIDERATION OF USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE BURDEN.
The USDA Food Connect Website collects information electronically. After completing the USDA eAuthentication registration process, registrants may access the USDA Food Connect Website with their individual login and password. Processors populate their product information on the USDA Food Connect Website by (1) entering products individually or (2) completing an Excel spreadsheet template from which they can download their aggregated information to the USDA Food Connect Website.
The USDA Food Connect Website was not fully automated when it launched in 2004. All registrants, including processors and distributors that provide the majority of the data collected and available on the website, entered their data manually. After the initial launch, it was determined that it was too time-consuming for processors and distributors to manually enter product data. Processors and distributors with extensive product lines requested simpler data entry forms. The USDA Food Connect Website was upgraded and re-launched in 2007, providing processors and distributors three options for submitting product data: manual entry, Excel template, or the Food Profile web site operated by AFS Technologies, Inc. After this information collection was approved in January 2010, the database upload function was disabled because the function was not working properly. We continue to work with our information technology group to repair the technical problems.
Web site programming problems currently prevent distributors from registering warehouses and products; therefore, distributors are not able to complete the registration process at this time. Distributors’ participation on the USDA Food Connect Website will be reassessed in the future.
DESCRIBE EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY DUPLICATION. SHOW SPECIFICALLY WHY ANY SIMILAR INFORMATION ALREADY AVAILABLE CANNOT BE USED OR MODIFIED FOR USE FOR THE PURPOSE(S) DESCRIBED IN ITEM 2 ABOVE.
No other Federal agencies collect the same information as the USDA Food Connect Website.
IF THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION IMPACTS SMALL BUSINESSES OR OTHER SMALL ENTITIES (ITEMS 5 OF THE OMB FORM 83-I), DESCRIBE THE METHODS USED TO MINIMIZE BURDEN.
The collection of information will not adversely impact small businesses or other small entities. The information voluntarily collected from each registrant may help small businesses by providing them more exposure to institutional food service professionals. Of the 1,215 respondents, 376 are small businesses.
DESCRIBE THE CONSEQUENCE OF FEDERAL PROGRAM OR POLICY ACTIVITIES IF THE COLLECTION IS NOT CONDUCTED OR IS CONDUCTED LESS FREQUENTLY, AS WELL AS ANY TECHNICAL OR LEGAL OBSTACLES TO REDUCING BURDEN.
The USDA Food Connect Website is provided to food buyers, processors, brokers, and associations as a service. It is designed to be a central location where institutional food service professionals who provide meals in institutional settings can locate processors who manufacture foods using USDA-provided commodities, brokers who represent the processors, and food-related associations. Without the USDA Food Connect Website, it would be difficult for institutional food service professionals to locate processors, and brokers who manufacturer and represent processors that can further process USDA commodities or supply other value-added foods.
EXPLAIN ANY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WOULD CAUSE AN INFORMATION COLLECTION TO BE CONDUCTED IN A MANNER:
REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO REPORT INFORMATION TO THE AGENCY MORE OFTEN THAN QUARTERLY;
Respondents participate voluntarily and, if they choose to do so, are required to provide the requested information one time. They can update their own information at any time at their convenience.
REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO PREPARE A WRITTEN RESPONSE TO A COLLECTION OF INFORMATION IN FEWER THAN 30 DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF IT;
Respondents participate voluntarily and are not required to prepare a written response to a collection of information.
REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO SUBMIT MORE THAN AN ORIGINAL AND TWO COPIES OF ANY DOCUMENT;
Respondents are not required to submit any documents.
REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO RETAIN RECORDS, OTHER THAN HEALTH, MEDICAL, GOVERNMENT CONTRACT, GRANT-IN-AID, OR TAX RECORDS FOR MORE THAN 3 YEARS;
Respondents are not required to retain any additional records.
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;
The information collected will not be used in connection with a statistical survey.
REQUIRING THE USE OF A STATISTCAL DATA CLASSIFICATION THAT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY OMB;
There is no requirement for a statistical data classification.
THAT INCLUDES A PLEDGE OF CONFIDENTIALITY THAT IS NOT SUPPORTED BY AUTHORITY ESTABLISHED IN STATUE 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
No confidential information is collected.
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.
Respondents are not required to submit proprietary trade secrets or other confidential information.
IF APPLICABLE, PROVIDE A COPY AND IDENTIFY THE DATE AND PAGE NUMBER OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER OF THE AGENCY’S NOTICE, REQIRED BY 5 CFR 1320.8(d), SOLICITING COMMENTS ON THE INFORMATION COLLECTION PRIOR TO SUBMISSION TO OMB. SUMMARIZE PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO THAT NOTICE AND DESCRIBE ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE AGENCY IN RESPONSE TO THESE COMMENTS. SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS COMMENTS RECEIVED ON COST AND HOUR BURDEN.
On September 3, 2013, Vol. No. 78, No. 170, pages 54232 to 54233, the Agency published a notice of information collection and request for comments in the Federal Register. No comments were received.
DESCRIBE EFFORTS TO CONSULT WITH PERSONS OUTSIDE THE AGENCY TO OBTAIN THEIR VIEWS ON THE AVAILABILITY OF DATA, FREQUENCY OF COLLECTION, THE CLARITY OF INSTRUCTIONS AND RECORDKEEPING, DISCLOSURE, OR REPORTING FORMAT (IF ANY), AND ON THE DATA ELEMENTS TO BE RECORDED, DISCLOSED, OR REPORTED.
CONSULTATION WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THOSE FROM WHOM INFORMATION IS TO BE OBTAINED OR THOSE WHO MUST COMPILE RECORDS SHOULD OCCUR AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 3 YEARS – EVEN IF THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION ACTIVITY IS THE SAME AS IN PRIOR PERIODS. THERE MAY BE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAY PRECLUDE CONSULTATION IN A SPECIFIC SITUATION. THESE CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD BE EXPLAINED.
We consulted with the following representatives from whom information would be obtained:
Consumer: Ms. Chris Facha, USDA Foods Program Analyst, Oregon Department of Education, 255 Capitol Street, NE, Salem, OR 97310, telephone: (503) 947-5896.
Processor: Ms. Alethia Scheett, K12 Specialist/Land O’ Lakes, Inc., 12100 Country Road F West, MS 3015, Arden Hills, MN 55112, telephone: (651) 375-2364.
Processor: Mr. Dan Southard, President, M.C.I. Foods, Inc., Los Cabos Mexican Foods, 13013 Molette Street, Santa Fe Springs, California 90670, telephone: (800) 704-4661 extension 306.
EXPLAIN ANY DECISION TO PROVIDE ANY PAYMENT OR GIFT TO RESPONDENTS, OTHER THAN REMUNERATION OF CONTRACTORS OR GRANTEES.
No payments or gifts are provided to respondents.
DESCRIBE ANY ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY PROVIDED TO RESPONDENTS AND THE BASIS FOR THE ASSURANCE IN STATUTE, REGULATION, OR AGENCY POLICY.
The USDA Food Connect Website does not request confidential information from respondents. Guests on the USDA Food Connect Website may browse and view a minimal amount of information available in the database. Registered users’ (institutional food service professionals, processors, brokers, and food-related associations) access to view database information is determined by the registration type they select during the registration process.
PROVIDE ADDITIONAL JUSTIFICATION FOR ANY QUESTIONS OF A SENSITIVE NATURE, SUCH AS SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUTDES, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, AND OTHER MATTERS THAT SHOULD INCLUDE THE REASONS WHY THE AGENCY CONSIDERS THE QUESTIONS NECESSARY, THE SPECIFIC USES TO BE MADE OF THE INFORMATION, THE EXPLANATION TO BE GIVEN TO PERSONS FROM WHOM THE INFORMATION IS REQUESTED, AND ANY STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO OBTAIN THEIR CONSENT.
Questions of a sensitive nature are not in this information collection.
PROVIDE ESTIMATES OF THE HOUR BURDEN OF THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.
THE STATEMENT SHOULD:
INDICATE THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS, FREQUENCY OF RESPONSE, ANNUAL HOUR BURDEN, AND AN EXPLANATION OF HOW THE BURDEN WAS ESTIMATED. UNLESS DIRECTED TO DO SO, AGENCIES SHOULD NOT CONDUCT SPECIAL SURVEYS TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON WHICH TO BASE HOUR BURDEN ESTIMATES. CONSULTATION WITH A SAMPLE (FEWER THAN 10) OF POTENTIAL RESPONDENTS IS DESIRABLE. IF THE HOUR BURDEN ON RESPONDENTS IS EXPECTED TO VARY WIDELY BECAUSE OF DIFFERENCE IN ACTIVITY, SIZE, OR COMPLEXITY, SHOW THE RANGE OF ESTIMATED HOUR BURDEN, AND EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR THE VARIANCE. GENERALLY, ESTIMATES SHOULD NOT INCLUDE BURDEN HOURS FOR CUSTOMARY AND USUAL BUSINESS PRACTICES.
The public reporting burden for approximately 1,215 respondents (one response per institutional food service professionals, six responses per processors, two responses per broker, and one response per food-related association) is up to 1,907 responses. It is estimated that 297 hours per year will be required for the 1,215 respondents to complete the responses, averaging approximately 9 minutes per response. The complete public reporting burden is summarized on AMS-71.
IF THIS REQUEST FOR APPROVAL COVERS MORE THAN ON ONE FORM, PROVIDE SEPARATE HOUR BURDEN ESTIMATES FOR EACH FORM AND AGGREGATE THE HOUR BURDENS IN ITEM 13 OF OMB FORM 83-I.
All forms listed below are accessible at the USDA Food Connect Website: http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov. Each registrant may only access the page(s) that matches their USDA Food Connect Website registration ID.
Institutional Food Service Professionals Registration Submission http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterInit.aspx and http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterFinish.aspx. Approximately 620 institutional food service professionals have registered on the USDA Food Connect Website. Institutional food service professionals will only complete this form once, which includes agreeing to the website disclaimer. The annual burden for completing the submission will be 68 hours.
Processors Registration Submission http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterInit.aspx and http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterFinish.aspx. Approximately 137 processors have registered on the USDA Food Connect Website. Processors will only complete this form once, which includes agreeing to the website disclaimer. The annual burden for completing the submission will be 21 hours.
Processors Add a Plant and Request an Audit Registration Submission http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/processor/AddPlant.aspx and http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/audit/RequestAudit.aspx?needAuditId=1148&requestAuditConfirmed=yes. Approximately 137 processors have registered 1plant each on the USDA Food Connect Website. Processors will only complete this submission once for each plant they own that manufactures the products they register on the website. The annual burden for completing the submission will be 19 hours.
Processors Add a New Product Registration Submission (A Single Product) http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/product/AddAndManageProducts.aspx?Control+addProduct. Approximately 47 producers have registered 10 products each on the USDA Food Connect Website. Processors will only complete this submission once for each product they register on the site. The annual burden for completing the submission will be 146 hours.
Processors Add a New Product Registration Submission (Excel Spreadsheet) http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/product/AddAndManageProducts.aspx?Control=template. Approximately 90 producers have registered 1 product each on the USDA Food Connect Website using this method. Processors will only complete this submission once for the products they register on the site. The annual burden for completing the submission will be 18 hours.
Processors Add a New Product Registration Submission to the California Portal (A Single Product) http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/product/AddAndManageProducts.aspx?Control=addProduct#. Approximately 9 producers have registered 15 products each on the USDA Food Connect Website using this method. Processors will only complete this submission once for each product they register on the site. The annual burden for completing the submission will be one hour.
Processors Add a New Product Registration Submission to the California Portal (Excel Spreadsheet)
http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/product/AddAndManageProducts.aspx?Control=template. Approximately 10 producers have registered 15 products each on the USDA Food Connect Website using this method. Processors will only complete this submission once for the products they register on the site. The annual burden for completing the submission will be one hour.
Brokers Registration Submission http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterInit.aspx and http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterFinish.aspx. Approximately 106 brokers have registered on the USDA Food Connect Website. Brokers will only complete this form once, which includes agreeing to the Web site disclaimer. The annual burden for completing the submission will be 16 hours.
Brokers Add a Branch Registration Submission http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterBrokerBranch.aspx. Approximately one broker has registered three branch offices on the USDA Food Connect Website. Brokers will only complete this submission if they have branch offices. The annual burden for completing the submission will be 27 minutes.
Food Related Association Registration Submission http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterInit.aspx and http://www.foodconnect.usda.gov/fcc/Register/RegisterFinish.aspx. Approximately 58 food related associations have registered on the USDA Food Connect Website. Associations will only complete this form once, which includes agreeing to the website disclaimer. The annual burden for completing the submission will be 6 hours.
PROVIDE ESTIMATES OF ANNUALIZED COST TO RESPONDENTS FOR THE HOUR BURDENS FOR COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION, IDENTIFYING AND USING APPROPRIATE WAGE RATE CATEGORIES.
Estimates of the burden of collection of information have been summarized on AMS Form 71 spreadsheet. The respondents’ estimated annual cost in providing information on the USDA Food Connect Website is $8,066.52. This total has been estimated by multiplying 297 total burden hours by $27.16, an average of the mean hourly earnings of full-time State and local government employees. Data for computation of this hourly wage were obtained from the U.S Department of Labor Statistic’s “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation – June 2013,” published September 2013 (USDL-13-1835). This publication can also be found at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf.
PROVIDE AN ESTIMATE OF THE TOTAL ANNUAL COST BURDEN TO RESPONDENTS OR RECORDKEEPERS RESULTING FROM THE
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. (DO NOT INCLUDE THE COST OF
ANY HOUR BURDEN SHOWN IN ITEMS 12 AND 14).
THE COST ESTIMATE SHOULD BE SPLIT INTO TWO COMPONENTS: (a) A TOTAL CAPITAL AND START-UP-COST COMPONENT (ANNUALIZED OVER ITS EXPECTED USEFUL LIFE); AND (b) A TOTAL OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE AND PURCHASE OF SERVICES COMPONENT. THE ESTIMATES SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH GENERATING, MAINTAINING AND DISCLOSING OR PROVIDING THE INFORMATION. INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS OF METHODS USED TO ESTIMATE MAJOR COST FACTORS INCLUDING SYSTEM AND TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION, EXPECTED USEFUL LIFE OF CAPITAL EQUIPMENT, THE DISCOUNT RATE(S), AND THE TIME PERIOD OVER WHICH COSTS WILL BE INCURRED. CAPITAL AND START-UP COSTS INCLUDE, AMONG OTHER ITEMS, PREPARATIONS FOR COLLECTING INFORMATION SUCH AS PURCHASING COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE, MONITORING, SAMPLING, DRILLING AND TESTING EQUIPMENT; AND RECORD STORAGE FACILITIES.
IF COST ESTIMATES ARE EXPECTED TO VARY WIDELY, AGENCIES SHOULD PRESENT RANGES OF COST BURDENS AND EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR THE VARIANCE. THE COST OF PURCHASING OR CONTRACTING OUT INFORMATION COLLECTION SERVICES SHOULD BE A PART OF THIS COST BURDEN ESTIMATE. IN DEVELOPING COST BURDEN ESTIMATES, AGENCIES MAY CONSULT WITH A SAMPLE OF RESPONDENTS (FEWER THAN 10), UTILIZE THE 60-DAY PRE-OMB SUBMISSION PUBLIC COMMENT PROCESS AND USE EXISTING ECONOMIC OR REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RULEMAKING CONTAINING THE INFORMATION COLLECTION, AS APPROPRIATE.
GENERALLY, ESTIMATES SHOULD NOT INCLUDE PURCHASES OF EQUIPMENT OR SERVICE, OR PORTIONS THEREOF, MADE: (1) PRIOR TO OCTOBER 1, 1995, (2) TO ACHIEVE REGULATORY COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE INFORMATION COLLECTION, (3) FOR REASONS OTHER THAN TO PROVIDE INFORMATION OR KEEPING RECORDS FOR THE GOVERNMENT, OR (4) AS PART OF CUSTOMARY AND USUAL BUSINESS OR PRIVATE PRACTICES.
There are no capital/start-up or ongoing operation/maintenance costs associated with this information collection.
PROVIDE ESTIMATES OF ANNUALIZED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. ALSO, PROVIDE A DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD USED TO ESTIMATE COST, WHICH SHOULD INCLUDE QUANTIFICATION OF HOURS, OPERATION EXPENSES (SUCH AS EQUIPMENT, OVERHEAD, PRINTING, AND SUPPORT STAFF), AND ANY OTHER EXPENSE THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INCURRED WITHOUT THIS COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. AGENCIES ALSO MAY AGGREGATE COST ESTIMATES FROM ITEMS 12, 13, AND 14 IN A SINGLE TABLE.
The Federal government’s annual costs for administering this information collection is estimated at $199,000 per year and subsequent years assuming cost-of-living increases for salary and higher overhead costs. Due to technical difficulties, services provided by ASF Technologies, Inc. to allow manufacturers to upload their product information from the Food Profile web site to the USDA Food Connect Website are no longer used.
EXPLAIN THE REASON FOR ANY PROGRAM CHANGES OR ADJUSTMENTS REPORTED IN ITEMS 13 OR 14 OF THE OMB FORM 83-I.
This is the second collection in which we are using actual number of respondents and have a functioning web site. This information collection includes a new option for the California portal that allows processors to identify their products manufactured from USDA-supplied commodities and their commercial food products that meet the California Competitive Food and Beverage Standards on the USDA Food Connect Website. Also, after this information collection was approved in January 2010, the database upload function was disabled because the function was not working properly. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of responses and burden hours, increasing the total responses from 388 to 1,907 responses and the total burden hours from 52 hours to 297 hours annually. We continue to work with our information technology group to repair the technical problems and should have links operational within the next year. Due to ROCIS rounding of the previous burden, there is a slight difference in the actual burden.
FOR COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION WHOSE RESULTS WILL BE PUBLISHED, OUTLINE PLANS FOR TABULATION, AND PUBLICATION. ADDRESS ANY COMPLEX ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES THAT WILL BE USED. PROVIDE THE TIME SCHEDULE FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT, INCLUDING BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION COMPLETION OF REPORT, PUBLICATION DATES, AND OTHER ACTIONS.
The collected information will not be published.
IF SEEKING APPROVAL TO NOT DISPLAY THE EXPIRATION DATE FOR OMB APPROVAL OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION, EXPLAIN THE REASONS THAT DISPLAY WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE.
The Agency requests approval to not display the expiration date of OMB’s approval of the information collection, which would require a contract to be awarded for website changes. Each contract will require a statement of work outlining the task to be completed, proposals for bid from at least three vendors, and funding to have the task completed and accepted. This process would be time consuming and increase the cost of administrating the website.
EXPLAIN EACH EXCEPTION TO THE CERTIFICATION STATEMENT IDENTIFIED IN ITEM 19, “CERTIFICATION FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS,” OF OMB FORM 83-I.
The agency is able to certify compliance with all provisions under Item 19 of OMB Form 83-I.
COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS.
This information collection does not employ statistical methods.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Modified | 2013-10-29 |
| File Created | 2013-10-29 |