Health Canada’s Front-of-Package nutrition labelling (FOPL) regulations, require prepackaged food high in sodium, sugars, and/or saturated fat to display a standardized “high in” nutrition symbol as of January 20261. Establishing a baseline of the nutritional quality of the product portfolios of the major food companies is important for assessing the impact of these regulations on reformulation of products by food manufacturers in Canada and eventually how their portfolios compare to those in other countires without FOPL ‘warnings’. Thus, the goal of this research was to assess the potential impact of Canada’s FOPL regulations on the product portfolios of major food companies, prior to introduction of FOPL. A cross-sectional analysis of prepackaged foods and beverages was conducted using the Food Label Information Program (FLIP) 2023 database, (n = >100,000, > 90% market share)2 and 2023 Canadian retail sales data from Euromonitor3. FLIP provided product-level nutrient composition, serving size, food category, and validated parent-company information. Products were assessed according to Health Canada’s FOPL regulation thresholds, including applicable exclusions and exemptions. Products meeting or exceeding a threshold were classified as requiring the corresponding FOPL symbol. Company-level results were examined across 32 major food companies and considered alongside 2023 Canadian retail sales. More than half of the products marketed by the major food companies by sales in Canada, would require at least one FOPL symbol, with >80% of products from Lindt & Sprungli, Kellanova, Upfield Holdings (now Flora Food Group), Hershey, Monster Beverage, Maple Leaf Foods, McCormick, Conagra, Coca Cola, and Unilever, requiring a symbol, while for Barilla, Danone, FGF Brands, and Smucker Company, less than 40% of products would. Products from Maple Leaf Foods (81.8%) and Monster Beverage (81.0%) had the highest proportion of products with symbols for ‘High in Sodium’; Hershey (88%) and Coca Cola (83.3%) for sugars, and Lindt & Sprungli (97.7%) and Upfield Holdings (97.1%) for saturated fat. The top food categories that would require ≥1 FOPL symbol included: Dessert toppings (100%), Combination dishes (98.6%) and (Soups (94.5%), compared to Eggs (0%), Nuts and seeds (2.4%), and Legumes (9.5%). Considerable variation was observed across companies
(p<0.01) , reflecting differences in their product portfolios, but was not related to company sales. Canada’s FOPL regulations have the potential to affect a substantial proportion of products marketed by major food companies, with significant room for reformulation. This company-level assessment provides important pre-implementation baseline data and establishes a benchmark for evaluating how the food industry responds to the regulations over time and eventually how their product portfolios compare to those in other countires without FOPL ‘warnings’.