The Development and Application of a Tool for Quantifying the Strength of Voluntary Actions and Commitments of Major Canadian Food Companies to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Their Products

Abstract

Background Canada's food supply is high in nutrients of public health concern, contributing to poor diet quality and increased non-communicable disease risk. Food companies shape the healthfulness of the food supply, yet little is known about companies’ voluntary actions and commitments concerning product (re)formulation. Objective This study aimed to develop and apply a tool for quantifying the strength of voluntary actions and commitments of major food companies in Canada to improve the healthfulness of their products. Methods Twenty-two top packaged food and beverage companies were selected based on Canadian market share. Recent actions and/or commitments to reduce energy/portion sizes, sodium, saturated fat, trans fat and sugars were identified from company websites and public documents, verified by company representatives (where possible), and scored based on breadth of application across the product portfolio, magnitude(s) of reduction, measurability, nutritional significance, national/global applicability and transparency using the Food Company Reformulation scoring tool. Companies offering beverages only (n = 4) were not assessed for sodium, saturated fat or trans fat (re)formulation. Results Seventeen of 22 companies reported reductions and/or commitments concerning sodium (72.2%, n = 13/18), trans fat (61.1%, n = 11/18), sugars (59.1%, n = 13/22), saturated fat (55.6%, n = 10/18) and/or energy/portion sizes (50.0%, n = 11/22). Scores ranged from 0/155 to 122/155 for food companies (median = 49/155), and 0/65 to 42/65 for beverage companies (median = 17/65). Companies generally performed best for sodium reduction (median = 21/32, range = 0–32) and poorest for energy/portion size reductions (median = 2/30, range = 0–24). Multinational companies had significantly higher total scores than domestic companies (p = 0.004). Higher total scores were associated with greater market shares in the beverage manufacturing sector (p = 0.04), but not packaged food (p = 0.50). Conclusions Many of Canada's leading food companies report limited or no action to reduce nutrients of concern in their products, suggesting a need for government intervention and strengthened accountability mechanisms to encourage alignment of reformulation efforts with government and expert recommendations.