title: How experts are chosen to inform public policy: can the process be improved?
abstract: The ever-increasing complexity of the food supply has magnified the importance of ongoing research into nutrition and food safety issues that have significant impact on public health. At the same time, ethical questions have been raised regarding conflict of interest, making it more challenging to form the expert panels that advise government agencies and public health officials in formulating nutrition and food safety policy. Primarily due to the growing complexity of the interactions among government, industry, and academic research institutions, increasingly stringent conflict-of-interest policies may have the effect of barring the most experienced and knowledgeable nutrition and food scientists from contributing their expertise on the panels informing public policy. This paper explores the issue in some depth, proposing a set of principles for determining considerations for service on expert advisory committees. Although the issues around scientific policy counsel and the selection of advisory panels clearly have global applicability, the context for their development had a US and Canadian focus in this work. The authors also call for a broader discussion in all sectors of the research community as to whether and how the process of empaneling food science and nutrition experts might be improved.
authors: SR Strategy LLC, 1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036, United States.
authors: Sylvia
authors: S
authors: Rowe
authors: Nick
authors: N
authors: Alexander
authors: Connie M
authors: CM
authors: Weaver
authors: Johanna T
authors: JT
authors: Dwyer
authors: Christa
authors: C
authors: Drew
authors: Rhona S
authors: RS
authors: Applebaum
authors: Stephanie
authors: S
authors: Atkinson
authors: Fergus M
authors: FM
authors: Clydesdale
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Hentges
authors: Nancy A
authors: NA
authors: Higley
authors: M Elizabeth
authors: ME
authors: Westring
mesh_terms: D026683:Advisory Committees / Q000941:ethics*; D002170:Canada; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D059022:Food Safety; D033161:Government Regulation; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D011634:Public Health / Q000941:ethics*; D011640:Public Policy; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
keywords: Advisory panels; Conflict of interest; Food science experts; Nutrition experts; Scientific biases