Nutritional portrait of processed foods purchased in Québec (Canada), 2016-2022.

Abstract

Objective: The Food Quality Observatory synthetises the nutritional composition of fifteen processed food categories commonly purchased in Québec (Canada). We assessed how the new Canadian front-of-pack (FoP) labelling regulation of a ‘high in’ symbol, to be implemented as of January 1, 2026, would be potentially reflected in these categories and how simulations of reformulation would impact the presence of the symbol.

Design: Nutritional information was obtained by collecting food products available in supermarkets and grocery stores in the province of Québec (2016–2022). Sales data were obtained from NielsenIQ company. Fifteen food categories have been selected, and three levels of reformulation were simulated.

Setting: The nutritional values of 5132 products were merged with sales data. 3941 products were successfully cross-referenced.

Results: Sixty percent of all products sold (n 2336/3941) would carry the ‘high in’ symbol reflecting a high content of Na, saturated fat and/or total sugar (39 %, 16 % and 17 %, respectively). For certain food categories, a slight reduction (5–15 %) in Na, saturated fat or total sugar content would allow removing the ‘high in’ symbol in a large number of products. For example, a 5 % reduction of the Na content in sliced breads would allow 22 percentage point (pp) fewer products to display the symbol.

Conclusions: This study presents a portrait of processed foods purchased in Québec (Canada) and the distribution of the FOP ‘high in’ symbol. Such a portrait generates important data to monitor the food supply’s nutritional quality, which can ultimately contribute to improving the nutritional quality of processed foods.