Canada

Public Sector (Food EPI)

1. L’Abbé M, Schermel A, Minaker L, Kelly B, Lee A, Vandevijvere S, Twohig P, Barquera S, Friel S, Hawkes C, Kumanyika S, Lobstein T, Ma J, Macmullan J, Mohan S, Monteiro C, Neal B, Rayner M, Sacks G, Sanders D, Snowdon W, Swinburn B, Walker C. INFORMAS. Monitoring foods and beverages provided and sold in public sector settings, Obesity Reviews, 2013; 14(S1), 96-107

2. Vanderlee L, Karbasy K, Vandevijvere S, Swinburn B L’Abbe MR. Examining food environment policy implementation in Canada: adapting the Food-EPI tool and process to the Canadian context. (October 17, 2017 – Poster). IUNS 21^st International Congress on Nutrition. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

3. Vanderlee L, Karbasy K, L’Abbe MR. An analysis of government action regarding food environment policies in Canada by jurisdiction. (May 25, 2017 – Poster). Canadian Nutrition Society Annual Meeting. Montreal, Canada.

4. Karbasy K, Vanderlee L, L’Abbe M. (2017). A comprehensive local food environment policy monitoring framework. Canadian Nutrition Society Annual Meeting (Poster Presentation)

5. Vanderlee L, Sacks G, Vergeer L, Robinson E, Vandevijvere S, Swinburn B, L’Abbé M for INFORMAS. Examining food environment policies of major chain restaurants in Canada. (June 9, 2017 – Oral). International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting. Victoria, Canada.

6. Vanderlee L, L’Abbé M. (2017). Creating healthier food environments in Canada: Current policies and priority actions. Briefing synopsis to Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada.

7. Vanderlee L, L’Abbé M. (2017). Commentary – Food for thought on food environments in Canada. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 37(9): 263-265.

8. Karbasy, K, Vanderlee L, L’Abbe M. (2018). Local Food-EPI: pilot study to assess municipal food environment policies in Ontario. Canadian Nutrition Society Annual Meeting (Poster Presentation)

9. Vanderlee L, L’Abbe M. (2018). The food environment in Canada: Current policies and priority actions. Part of symposium titled “Food environment policy in Canada and around the globe” chaired by Dr. Mary L’Abbe. Canadian Nutrition Society Annual Meeting (Oral Presentation)

10. Vanderlee L, Goorang S, Karbasy K, Schermel A, L’Abbe M. (2018). The food environment in Canada: Current policies and priority actions. Canadian Public Health Association Annual Meeting (Oral Presentation)

11. Vergeer L, Vanderlee L, L’Abbé MR. (2018). A tool to evaluate the food environment policies and commitments of food companies in Canada. Oral presentation at “The Future of Obesity Prevention and Management 2.0” event held by Obesity Canada, Toronto, Canada.

12. Vanderlee L, Goorang S, Karbasy K, Schermel A, L’Abbe M. (2018) “Food environments in Canada: Current policies and priority actions”. The summary report as well as all provincial and territorial reports can be found at: http://labbelab.utoronto.ca/food-epi-canada-2017/

13. Vergeer L, Ahmed M, Vanderlee L, L’Abbé M. Examining the nutritional quality of the product portfolios of major packaged food and beverage companies in Canada. Accepted as an oral presentation at the 13th Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) European Nutrition Conference. October 15-18, 2019. Dublin, Ireland.

14. Vanderlee L, Goorang S, Karbasy K, Vandevijvere S, L’Abbé MR. Policies to create healthier food environments in Canada: evaluation and prioritized actions using the Health Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019;16(22): 4473; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224473

15. Vanderlee L, McLaughlin A, Vaillancourt C, Olstad DL, Mah C, L’Abbé MR. Actions to cultivate healthier food environments in Canada: Federal government policies and progress, 2023. Available

 

Private Sector

16. Vanderlee L, Sacks G, Vergeer L, Robinson E, Vandevijvere S, Swinburn B, L’Abbe M for INFORMAS. Implementation of a tool to evaluate policy actions and commitments of chain restaurants in Canada. (October 19, 2017 – Oral). IUNS 21^st International Congress on Nutrition. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

17. Vergeer L, Vanderlee L, L’Abbé MR. (2018). A tool to evaluate the food environment policies and commitments of food companies in Canada. Oral presentation at “The Future of Obesity Prevention and Management 2.0” event held by Obesity Canada, Toronto, Canada.

18. Vanderlee L, Vergeer L, Sacks G, Robinson E, L’Abbe M. Policies and commitments of major Canadian food manufacturing companies to improve the food environment. International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting. (2019 – Oral). Prague, Czech Republic.

19. Vergeer L, Ahmed M, Franco-Arellano B, Dickinson K, Mulligan C, Vanderlee L, L’Abbé M. An evaluation and comparison of the nutritional quality of packaged food and beverage products offered by major food companies in Canada according to the Health Star Rating system. Presented at the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting. June 6, 2019. Prague, Czech Republic.

20. Franco-Arellano, B., Kim, M. A., Vandevijvere, S., Bernstein, J. T., Labonté, M., Mulligan, C., & L’Abbé, M. R. (2019). Assessment of Packaged Foods and Beverages Carrying Nutrition Marketing against Canada’s Food Guide Recommendations. Nutrients, 11.

21. Mulligan, C. Christoforou, A.K. Vergeer, L. Bernstein, J.T. L’Abbé, M.R. Evaluating the Canadian Packaged Food Supply Using Health Canada’s Proposed Nutrient Criteria for Restricting Food and Beverage Marketing to Children. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 1250.

22. Gaucher-Holm A, Wood B, Sacks G, Vanderlee L. The structure of the Canadian packaged food and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing and grocery retailing sectors through a public health lens. Global Health. 2023 Mar 11;19(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12992-023-00917-w. PMID: 36906536; PMCID: PMC10008568.

23. Vanderlee L, Gaucher-Holm A, Chan J, Vaillancourt C, Vergeer L, Potvin Kent M, Olstad DL, L’Abbé M, Sacks G. Benchmarking food and beverage company policies to support healthier population diets in Canada, 2023. Packaged food and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing sector report. 2023. Québec City, QC, Canada.

24. Vanderlee L, Gaucher-Holm A, Chan J, Robinson E, Vaillancourt C, Vergeer L, Potvin Kent M, Olstad DL, L’Abbé M, Sacks G. Benchmarking food and beverage company policies to support healthier population diets in Canada, 2023. Grocery Retailing sector report. 2023. Québec City, QC, Canada

25. Under review (2024): Alexa Gaucher-Holm, Jasmine Chan, Gary Sacks, Caroline Vaillancourt, Laura Vergeer, Monique Potvin Kent, Dana Lee Olstad, Mary L’Abbé, Lana Vanderlee. Food and beverage manufacturing and retailing company policies and commitments to improve the healthfulness of Canadian food environments. 2024

 

Food Composition

26. Scourboutakos MJ, L’Abbé MR. 2012. Restaurant menus: calories, caloric density, and serving size. Am J Prevent Med. 43(3):249-255.

27. Scourboutakos MJ, Semnani-Azad Z, L’Abbe MR. 2013. Restaurant Meals: Almost a Full Day’s Worth of Calories, Fats, and Sodium.  JAMA Intern Med. 2013; 173(14):1373-4.

28. Scourboutakos MJ, L’Abbé MR. 2013. Sodium Levels in Canadian Fast-food and Sit-down Restaurants. Can J Public Health 2013; 104(1):e2-e8.

29. Scourboutakos MJ, L’Abbe MR. 2014. Changes in sodium levels in chain restaurant foods in Canada (2010-2013): a longitudinal study. Can Med Assoc J Open 2014 Oct 1;2(4):E343-51. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20140028. PMID: 25553327

30. Arcand J, Scourboutakos MJ, Au JT, L’Abbe MR. 2014 Trends in trans fatty acids in the Canadian food supply: an updated analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;100(4):1116-23. Epub 2014 Aug 6

31. Arcand J, Au JTC, Schermel A, L’Abbe MR. 2014. A comprehensive analysis of sodium levels in the Canadian packaged food supply. Am J Prev Med 2014;46(6):633–642.

32. Scourboutakos MJ, Semnani-Azad Z, L’Abbe MR. 2015. Added Sugars in Kids’ Meals from Chain Restaurants. Prevent Med Rep EPub Available Online 1 Dec 2014. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335514000163

33. Bernstein JT, Schermel A, Mills CM, L’Abbé MR. 2016. Total and free sugar content of Canadian prepackaged foods and beverages. Nutrients. 2016;8(9): E582.

34. Arcand J, Jefferson K, Schermel A, Shah F, Trang S, Kutlesa D, Lou W, L’Abbe MR. 2016. Examination of food industry progress in reducing the sodium content of packaged foods in Canada: 2010 to 2013. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2016 Jun;41(6):684-90. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2015-0617. Epub 2016 Apr 26. PMID: 27113326

35. Semnani-Azad Z, Scourboutakos MJ, L’Abbé MR. Kids’ Meals from Chain Restaurants: Exceedingly High in Calories, Fats, and Sodium. BMC Nutrition 2016: 2:16 doi:10.1186/s40795-016-0056-8.

36. Food Quality Observatory. Portrait initial de 15 catégories d’aliments transformés disponibles dans les marchés d’alimentation au Québec 2016-2022. 2024. Available : https://offrealimentaire.ca/portrait-initial-de-15-categories-2016-2022

37. Kim MA, Franco-Arellano B and L’Abbé MR. (2017). “Prevalence of partially and hydrogenated oils in the Canadian food supply”. Canadian Society of Nutrition Annual Meeting. Montreal, QC. May 25 – 27. Poster Presentation

38. Franco-Arellano B, Arcand J, Kim MA, Schermel A and L’Abbe M. “Progress towards eliminating industrially-produced trans-fatty acids in the Canadian marketplace, 2013-2017”. Public Health Nutrition (In press, accepted Nov 11, 2019)

39. Vergeer, L. Veira, P. Bernstein, J.T. Weippert, M. L’Abbé, M.R. The Calorie and Nutrient Density of More- Versus Less-Processed Packaged Food and Beverage Products in the Canadian Food Supply. Nutrients 2019, 11, 2782.

40. Vergeer L, Vanderlee L, L’Abbé M. An evaluation of voluntary commitments made by major food companies in Canada to improve the nutritional quality of their products. Oral and poster presentations at the 6^th Canadian Obesity Summit. April 23-26, 2019. Ottawa, Canada.

41. Franco-Arellano B, Arcand J, Kim MA, Schermel A and L’Abbe M. “Progress towards eliminating industrially-produced trans-fatty acids in the Canadian marketplace, 2013-2017”. Public Health Nutrition (In press, accepted Nov 11, 2019)

42. Vergeer L, Vanderlee L, Ahmed M, et al. A comparison of the nutritional quality of products offered by the top packaged food and beverage companies in Canada. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):650.

43. Yang Y, Ahmed M, L’Abbé MR. The Effects of Ontario Menu Labelling Regulations on Nutritional Quality of Chain Restaurant Menu Items-Cross-Sectional Examination. Nutrients. 2023 Sep 15;15(18):3992. doi: 10.3390/nu15183992. PMID: 37764776; PMCID: PMC10538060.

44. Reports: Portrait of the food supply (follow-up) -Multiple reports published for 15 food categories

 

Food Labelling

45. Schermel A, Wong CL, L’Abbé MR. 2016. Are Foods with Fat-Related Claims Useful for Weight Management? Appetite 2016;96:154-159. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.09.003.

46. Vanderlee L, Oh Y, Ahmed M, Franco-Arellano B, L’Abbe MR. (2017). Technical report to inform front-of- package nutrition labelling in Canada. The efficacy of front-of- package labelling schemes: an experimental study. Health Canada

47. Franco-Arellano B, Bernstein JT, Norsen S, Schermel A and L’Abbé MR (2017). “Assessing nutrition and other claims on food labels: A repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian food supply”. BMC Nutrition – under review

48. Franco-Arellano B, Labonté ME, Bernstein J and L’Abbé MR (2017). “Are health claims nudging consumers towards healthier food choices? An analysis of the nutritional quality of pre-packaged foods carrying health claims in the Canadian food supply”. International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting. Victoria, BC. Jun 7-10, 2017. Oral Presentation.

49. Bernstein JT, Franco-Arellano B, Schermel A, Labonte ME, L’Ab MR. (2017). “Healthfulness and nutritional composition of Canadian prepackaged foods with and without sugar claims”. International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting. Victoria, BC. Jun 7-10, 2017. Oral Presentation.

50. Franco-Arellano B, Labonté ME, Bernstein J and L’Abbé MR. (2017). “Assessing the nutritional quality of pre-packaged foods carrying nutrient content and front-of-pack claims in the Canadian food supply”. Canadian Society of Nutrition Annual Meeting. Montreal, QC. May 25 – 27. Poster Presentation

51. Franco-Arellano B, Kim MA, Vandevijvere S, Bernstein JT, Labonté ME, and L’Abbé MRPhD. “Healthfulness of Canadian packaged food products with and without health-related claims: An INFORMAS-based approach”. (October 2017). International Congress of Nutrition. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

52. Ahmed M and Aziz A. Front-of-Package Labelling Perspectives on implementation and the impact of front-of-package labels on consumers’ food choices and perceptions. Symposium, Canadian Nutrition Society, Halifax 2018.

53. Franco-Arellano B, Labonté ME, Bernstein J and L’Abbé MR. (2018). Examining the nutritional quality of Canadian packaged foods and beverages with and without nutrition claims. Nutrients. 10(7): E832.

54. Labonte M, Emrich TE, Scarborough P, Rayner M, L’Abbe MR. (2018). Potential impact of adopting traffic light labelling on mortality from noncommunicable diseases in Canada: A scenario modelling study. Journal of Preventive Medicine.

55. Vergeer L, Vanderlee L, L’Abbé M. An evaluation of voluntary commitments made by major food companies in Canada to improve the nutritional quality of their products. Oral and poster presentations at the 6th Canadian Obesity Summit. April 23-26, 2019. Ottawa, Canada.

56. Lee JJ, Ahmed M, Zhang T, Weippert MV, Schermel A, L’Abbé MR. The Availability and Quality of Food Labelling Components in the Canadian E-Grocery Retail Environment. Nutrients. 2021;13(8):2611.

57. Vanderlee L, Gaucher-Holm A, Lê-Brassard M, Vaillancourt C. Availability of calorie information on online food delivery service platforms among major chain restaurants in Canadian provinces with different calorie labelling policies. Can J Public Health. 2023.

Food Marketing

58. Schermel A, Emrich TE, Arcand J, Wong CL, L’Abbé MR. 2013. Nutrition marketing on processed food packages in Canada: 2010 Food Label Information Program. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2013; 38(6):666-72.

59. Bernstein JT, Franco-Arellano B, Schermel A. L’Abbé MR. (2017). “Is nutrition marketing more common in high sugar foods?” Canadian Society of Nutrition Annual Meeting. Montreal, QC. May 25 – 27. Poster Presentation

60. Vergeer L, Vanderlee L, Kent MP, L’Abbé MR. Commitments and actions regarding marketing to children on company websites of major packaged food companies in Canada. (May 25, 2017 – Poster). Canadian Nutrition Society Annual Meeting. Montreal, Canada.

61. Vergeer L, Vanderlee L, Potvin Kent M, Mulligan C, L’Abbé MR. (2019). The effectiveness of voluntary policies and commitments in restricting unhealthy food marketing to Canadian children on food company websites. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 44(1): 74-82, DOI:1139/apnm-2018-0528.

62. Potvin Kent M, Pauze E. The Frequency and Healthfulness of Food and Beverages Advertised on Adolescents’ Preferred Web Sites in Canada. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2018;63(1):102-107.

63. Vergeer L, Vanderlee L, Potvin Kent M, Mulligan C, L’Abbé MR. (2018). Examining the nutritional quality of products marketed to children on websites of top food companies in Canada. Canadian Nutrition Society Annual Conference (Poster Presentation)

64. Czoli, C.D.; Pauzé, E.; Potvin Kent, M. Exposure to Food and Beverage Advertising on Television among Canadian Adolescents, 2011 to 2016. Nutrients 2020, 12, 428.

65. Potvin Kent, M., Velazquez, C.E., Pauzé, E. et al. Food and beverage marketing in primary and secondary schools in Canada. BMC Public Health 19, 114 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6441-x

66. Potvin Kent M, Soares Guimaraes J, Remedios L, et al. Child and Youth Exposure to Unhealthy Food and Beverage Marketing on Television in Canada in 2019: A report to Health Canada. 2021.

67. Potvin Kent M, Hatoum F, Wu D, Remedios L, Bagnato M. Benchmarking unhealthy food marketing to children and adolescents in Canada: a scoping review. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2022;42(8):307-318

68. Potvin Kent M, Pritchard M, Pauzé E, Bagnato M, Remedios L. Social Media Conversations about Unhealthy Food and Beverages in Canada: An Analysis of Brands Frequently Marketed to Children Ottawa (Canada): The OUTLIVE Lab; 2022

69. Potvin Kent M, Pauzé E, Bagnato M, et al. Food and beverage advertising expenditures in Canada in 2016 and 2019 across media. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):1458.

70. Potvin Kent M, Pauzé E, Remedios L, et al. Advertising expenditures on child-targeted food and beverage products in two policy environments in Canada in 2016 and 2019. PLOS ONE. 2023;18(1):e0279275

71. Potvin Kent M, Soares Guimaraes J, Pritchard M, et al. Differences in child and adolescent exposure to unhealthy food and beverage advertising on television in a self-regulatory environment. BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):555

72. Potvin Kent M, Soares Guimarães J, Amson A, Pauzé E, Remedios L, Bagnato M, Pritchard M, Onwo A, Wu D, L’Abbé M, Mulligan C, Vergeer L, Weippert M. Sex differences in children’s exposure to food and beverage advertisements on broadcast television in four cities in Canada. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2023 May;43(5):222-230. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.43.5.02. PMID: 37195652; PMCID: PMC10237258.

73. Mulligan C, Vergeer L, Kent MP, L’Abbé MR. Child-appealing packaged food and beverage products in Canada-Prevalence, power, and nutritional quality. PLoS One. 2023 May 3;18(5):e0284350. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284350. PMID: 37134046; PMCID: PMC10156002.

74. Potvin Kent M, Mulligan C, Gillis G, Remedios L, Parsons C. Fast Food & Dine-In Restaurant Apps and Children’s Privacy: Exploring how children’s data and privacy are being protected on the mobile applications of top Canadian fast food and dine-in restaurants. The OUTLIVE Lab; 2023.

75. Minaker LM. Point-of-Sale Marketing to Children in Canada Evidence from 11 cities 2023; https://www.heartandstroke.ca/what-we-do/media-centre/news-releases/marketing-to-kids-glut-in-restaurants-stores-raises-concerns

76. Potvin Kent M, Mulligan C, Pauzé E, Pinto A, Remedios L. The food and beverage marketing monitoring framework for Canada: Development, implementation, and gaps. Food Policy. 2024;122:102587.

77. Kent MP, Bagnato M, Amson A, et al. #junkfluenced: the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages by social media influencers popular with Canadian children on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2024;21(1):37

 

Food Prices

78. Labonté ME, Noorhosseini S, Bernstein J, Ahmed M, L’Abbé MR. Are Foods of Higher Nutritional Quality More Expensive Than Their Less Healthy Counterparts? An Analysis of Canadian Packaged Foods. Abstract published in FASEB J. 2016;30:131.7. Presented at Experimental Biology (EB) 2016, April 3rd, 2016, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA. Available from: http://www.fasebj.org/content/30/1_Supplement/131.7 [Oral presentation + Finalist in the ASN Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster Competition].

79. Taylor NGA, Luongo G, Jago E, Mah CL. Observational study of population level disparities in food costs in 2021 in Canada: A digital national nutritious food basket (dNNFB). Prev Med Rep. 2023;32:102162

80. Under review (2024): Ziraldo E, Hu G, Khan A, L’Abbé MR. Investigating reformulation in the Canadian food supply between 2017 and 2020 and its impact on food prices. 2024

 

Food Retail

81. Lee JJ, Ahmed M, Zhang T, Weippert MV, Schermel A, L’Abbé MR. The Availability and Quality of Food Labelling Components in the Canadian E-Grocery Retail Environment. Nutrients. 2021;13(8):2611.

82. Minaker LM, Menko P, Olona D. Development and testing of two tools to assess point-of-sale food and beverage marketing to children in restaurants. Public Health Nutr. 2024 May 6:1-28. doi: 10.1017/S1368980024000983. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38705591

Food Provision

83. Arcand J, L’Abbe M, Newton G. 2013. Hospital Salt — Reply. Response to Morton Satin’s (Salt Institute) letter regarding study “Evaluation of sodium levels in hospital patient menus”, JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Mar 11;173(5):391-2.

84. Arcand J, Steckham K, Tzianetas R, L’Abbé MR, Newton GE. Evaluation of sodium levels in hospital patient menus. Arch Intern Med. 2012; 172 (16) 1261-62. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.2368

Population Diet

85. Ahmed M, Praneet Ng A, L’Abbe MR. Nutrient intakes of Canadian adults: results from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)-2015 Public Use Microdata File. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021;114(3):1131-1140

86. Lee JJ, Ahmed M, Julia C, Ng AP, Paper L, Lou WY, L’Abbé MR. Examining the diet quality of Canadian adults and the alignment of Canadian front-of-pack labelling regulations with other front-of-pack labelling systems and dietary guidelines. Front Public Health. 2023 Jun 23;11:1168745. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1168745. PMID: 37427256; PMCID: PMC10326271.

87. Lee JJ, Ahmed M, Ng AP, Mulligan C, Flexner N, L’Abbé MR. Nutrient intakes and top food categories contributing to intakes of energy and nutrients-of-concern consumed by Canadian adults that would require a ‘high-in’ front-of-pack symbol according to Canadian labelling regulations. PLoS One. 2023 May 18;18(5):e0285095. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285095. PMID: 37200252; PMCID: PMC10194982.

All Impact Modules

88. Vaillancourt C, Ahmed M, Kirk S, et al. Food environment research in Canada: a rapid review of methodologies and measures deployed between 2010 and 2021. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2024;21(1):18.