| Abstract: | Citizen engagement (involvement of everyday citizens in policy decisions) is now seen as a major component of governance and policy making. Government transparency is a central tenet of citizen engagement. This study was sought by Health Canada in order to learn from citizen groups in other countries about the nature and degree of transparency related to food and health product review in their country. Health Canada anticipated learning from their experiences and perceptions so that it could increase the transparency of its own review and regulatory process. The opinions of a cross‐section of stakeholders in the United States, the European Union (especially the UK), Australia and New Zealand, solicited via an e‐mail survey, were analysed. The results clearly indicate that, in general, respondents do not feel that their food and health product review system is transparent. These opinions varied depending on which of the seven dimensions of transparency was being examined. Of the 64 recommendations tendered for increasing government transparency, the 32 suggestions for improving their own systems were quite different from the 32 made for Health Canada to consider. Collectively, they provide rich insights into the refinement and clarification of the food and health product review process. |
