Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) - Comment

GMA requests an extension of the comment period on the docket referenced above for an additional 30 days, until August 31, 2009. GMA requests this extension in order to allow sufficient time for our members to review and comment on the survey research materials that were provided to GMA only at the end of June 2009. GMA believes that the ability of the public to review and comment on the actual research materials addresses the issues for which comment is requested in the Federal Register Notice, specifically the accuracy of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used, and ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected. GMA and its members are strongly interested in the use of symbols to communicate nutrition information on the labels and in labeling of foods. When the Federal Register notice was published on June 1, 2009 GMA immediately made requests to FDA staff to review the survey research materials, so we could comment on any study protocol and questionnaires in the context of responsive comments to the notice. In the past, our association has provided input to FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) on the substance of planned consumer research on food subjects.