Some of the world’s leading food companies, including major players in Canada and Quebec, have improved their efforts to promote healthy eating, but they could do even more, concludes a report released Thursday by a researcher at the ‘Laval University.
The best overall score, 75%, goes to the giant Unilever, which has implemented a clear strategy in support of healthier eating; set out public targets for the proportion of its sales coming from healthy foods; committed to publicly revealing its progress towards achieving these targets; and established a policy that limits advertising aimed at young people under 16, explained Professor Lana Vanderlee, of the Institute on Nutrition and Functional Foods at the Quebec university.
The worst overall score, 18%, was given to Red Bull. The average score was 49%, “a modest improvement since our last report in 2018,” the authors write.
Quebec-based Saputo obtains the best overall score across Canada, 55%, compared to 11% in the 2018 edition of the report. Researchers also gave scores of 40% to Agropur (4% in 2018), 34% to Lassonde (9% in 2018), 31% to Sobeys (6% in 2018), 30% to Maple Leaf ( 27% in 2018) and 28% at Loblaw (unchanged from 2018).
“The main thing we see is that companies are setting more goals to improve the quality of their food products and are being more transparent in this regard,” said Ms.me Vanderlee. But there are still companies that make very little effort and, overall, do little to improve the quality of their products. »
Mme Vanderlee and his team evaluated food companies that were willing to collaborate with them on six aspects: their corporate nutrition strategy; the (re)formulation of their products; the labeling and nutritional information of their products; promoting their brands and products; the accessibility of their products; and their transparency in terms of the relationships they maintain, for example, with professional organizations, nutrition programs or even political groups.
Mme Vanderlee highlighted “significant improvements in practices” at some dairy companies compared to the last assessment. Saputo also obtains the best Quebec rating in five of these six areas. It is ahead in terms of labeling and nutritional information by Agropur and Lassonde, who are tied.
It should be noted, however, that the performance of the three Quebec companies in this last area is not stellar, since they arrive at the back of the pack, just ahead of Red Bull.
“A wide range of overall scores (18% to 75%) indicates that some companies place very little emphasis on food and nutrition from a health and noncommunicable disease prevention perspective related to food, while others deploy more elaborate efforts in this area, write the authors.
“This situation may be related to company resources and capabilities, but it highlights the need for increased capacity and leadership in public health and nutrition among many Canadian food manufacturers,” they warn.
Product accessibility
It was in terms of product accessibility that the companies studied obtained the worst marks.
Innovation is therefore needed to identify ways in which food manufacturers can contribute to improving the accessibility (including availability and prices) of healthier foods in existing food environments, say the report’s authors. .
“This is another example where (food companies) can simply reduce access to less healthy foods and instead provide access to healthy foods,” Ms.me Vanderlee. We also have some examples internationally of food companies working with retailers to try to increase the promotion or accessibility of their healthier products in stores. »
The report’s authors also recommend the creation of programs, partnerships and infrastructure that will increase the availability of healthier foods and beverages, and reduce the availability of less healthy foods and beverages in key contexts, “including communities and isolated places, schools, hospitals and community spaces”.
They also suggest that companies implement a policy to ensure that healthy products will be offered at the same price (or at a lower price) than less healthy alternatives.
Unfortunately, said Mme Vanderlee, “We see very little action from companies committed to making their healthier foods more readily available or at a better price.”
On a more positive note, the authors of the report noted not only a greater willingness of companies to develop healthier products, but also greater transparency on their part on this subject, “which allows us to hold them to account , and this is a very important aspect,” explained the researcher.
That being said, she said, the companies that are least trying to improve their overall performance “are also the ones that are least likely to collaborate with us.”
“So we don’t know if these companies have less capacity related to nutrition, if they have less interest in doing it or if they are just less transparent about it,” said Ms.me Vanderlee. So they don’t talk about it as much. »
The report’s findings show that governments have an important role to play, as unhealthy diets are one of the leading factors of poor health in Canada, costing billions of dollars in health care costs each year, she said. -she adds.
“So in the face of limited progress in recent years, we need stronger intervention from public authorities to ensure that all companies act in favor of healthier diets among the Canadian population,” concluded Ms.me Vanderlee.