Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

The high-level health claims committee is the technical committee that is capable of assessing the veracity—indeed, the weight—of health claims proposed by food manufacturers. This is a technical and scientific issue. Public con-sultation would not necessarily add to strengthening this process or protecting consumers from misleading behaviour. During the development of the health claim standard by FSANZ, the public was consulted twice. The interested public is very aware of the new health claims currently being developed. So there has been public consultation in developing this standard, and the government believes that this is a technical and scientific issue well placed for the high-level health claims committee to look at.