Development, reliability and use of a food environment assessment tool in supermarkets of four neighbourhoods in Montréal, Canada

Abstract

Introduction: The food environment is a promising arena in which to influence people’s dietary habits. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive food environment assessment tool for businesses and characterize the food environment of a low-tomedium income area of Montréal, Canada. Methods: We developed a tool, Mesure de l’environnement alimentaire du consommateur dans les supermarchés (MEAC-S), and tested it for reliability. We used the MEAC-S to assess the consumer food environment of 17 supermarkets in four neighbourhoods of Montréal. We measured the shelf length, variety, price, display counts and in-store positions of fruits and vegetables (FV) and ultra-processed food products (UPFPs). We also assessed fresh FV for quality. Store size was estimated using the total measured shelf length for all food categories. We conducted Spearman correlations between these indicators of the food environment. Results: Reliability analyses revealed satisfactory results for most indicators. Characterization of the food environment revealed high variability in shelf length, variety and price of FV between supermarkets and suggested a disproportionate promotion of UPFPs. Display counts of UPFPs outside their normal display location ranged from 7 to 26, and they occupied 8 to 33 strategic in-store positions, whereas the number of display counts of fresh FV outside their normal display location exceeded 1 in only 2 of the 17 stores surveyed, and they occupied a maximum of 2 strategic in-store positions per supermarket. Price of UPFPs was inversely associated with their prominence (p $lt .005) and promotion (p $lt .003). Store size was associated with display counts and strategic in-store positioning of UPFPs (p $lt .001), but not FV, and was inversely associated with the price of soft drinks (p $lt .003). Conclusion: This study illustrates the variability of the food environment between supermarkets and underscores the importance of measuring in-store characteristics to adequately picture the consumer food environment.

Keywords

• nutrition, food environment, consumer food environment, fruits and vegetables, food processing, food marketing, obesity, ultra-processed food products