Mary L'Abbé

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WHO Collaborating Centre for Nutrition Policy for Chronic Disease Prevention

At a Glance

• Dr. L'Abbé's work aims to provide an evidence base to support sound public health nutrition policy.
• Research areas currently of interest include health claims on foods, front-of-pack labelling, children’s marketing on foods, nutritional quality of packaged and restaurant foods, menu labelling, dietary intakes and patterns of the Canadian population using national nutrition surveys, food fortification, food-like natural health products, trans fat, sodium, and sugar.
• The L’Abbé Lab’s research and food supply data have been used by Health Canada, the Ontario government, Toronto Public Health, Heart and Stroke Foundation, food industry, WHO/FAO and others to support monitoring, policy development and consumer programs.

About Dr. Mary L'Abbé

Dr. L’Abbé is a Professor Emeritus and former Chair, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto and Director, WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Policy for NCD Prevention.  Her research examines the nutritional quality of the food supply, nutrient profiling methods, front of pack labelling, dietary intake patterns and costs, and consumer research related to obesity and NCDs. She has served on numerous expert committees for the WHO, including the Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG) subgroup on Diet and Health, PAHO, Dietary Reference Intakes, Health Canada and others. Professor L’Abbé has authored over 380 publications and is a member of the Order of Canada and Fellow of CNS-SCN, the ASN and the International Union of Nutritional Sciences. She has received numerous national and international awards for her research and nutrition leadership. 

Research Synopsis 

1. Food and Nutrition Policy for Population Health Research Program – The goal of Dr. L’Abbé’s research program is to provide an evidence base to support public health nutrition policy in areas such as children’s marketing, front-of-pack labelling, the nutritional quality of packaged and restaurant foods, menu labelling, etc. Studies are conducted using five main approaches: (i) consumer surveys on knowledge, attitudes and behaviours; (ii) randomized, controlled experiments among consumers and children using commercially designed custom food packages; (iii) examining the nutritional quality of Canadian foods; (iv) development and testing of nutrition-related computer and mobile apps among consumers; and (v) development of methods for assessing and modelling population intakes using analyses of national food consumption surveys. Dr. L’Abbé’s research has resulted in over 150 publications since coming to the University of Toronto in 2009, most of which are first-authored by her graduate students and trainees (H-Index 47).
2. Food Databases – Dr. L’Abbé’s research group has developed two large databases containing nutrition and other label information for approximately 275,000 packaged Canadian foods collected in-store (2010, 2013, 2017) and via web scraping (2020 and 2023) in the Food Label Information and Price (FLIP) database, as well as approximately 80,000 restaurant foods from leading chain restaurants in Canada (Menu-FLIP). These databases are used in Dr. L’Abbé’s research and that of Canadian collaborators, and are shared with Health Canada, provincial governments, municipalities, Heart & Stroke, and Dietitians of Canada. Globally, the FLIP apps and architecture support research in over 15 countries for food supply monitoring, policy development, and consumer programs.

Recent Awards and Distinctions (Selected)

American Society for Nutrition Foundation, National Scientific Achievement Award: Conrad. A. Elvehjem Award for Public Service in Nutrition (2023)

Fellow, American Society for Nutrition (2021)

Outstanding Peer Reviewer Award, CIHR College of Reviewers (2021)

Inaugural Fellow, Canadian Nutrition Society (2020)

The 2019 Rusted-Bayley Visiting Professor Award, Memorial University of Newfoundland (2019)

Member, Order of Canada, Governor General of Canada (2018)

National and International Committee Memberships (Current)

WHO Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Front-of-Pack Labelling (2021-Present)

Board of Directors, Iodine Global Network (2020 - present)

Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, Meals4NCDs, Ghana, Africa, IDRC (2018 - present)

Scientific Advisor, Resolve to Save Lives, Bloomberg Philanthropies (2017 - present)

Invited Expert, Health Canada Meetings on Front-of-Pack Labelling, Ottawa (2017 - present)

Invited Expert, Health Canada Policies on Restricting Marketing of Unhealthy Foods to Children (2017 - present)

Director, WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Policy for Chronic Disease Prevention (2015 - present)

Chair, PAHO/WHO Technical Advisory Group on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention through Dietary Salt/Sodium Reduction (2015 - present)

World Obesity Federation, Scientific and Technical Advisory Network (2014 - present)

International Network for Food and Obesity/NCDs Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS; 2013 - present)

Canadian Cardiovascular Harmonized National Guideline Endeavour (C-CHANGE) Guideline Panel member (2013 - present)

Council on Mission: Priorities, Advice, Science and Strategy (CoMPASS), Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (2013 - present)

WHO Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG) and Member of the Diet and Health Sub-Committee (2010 - present)

Recent Publications

1. Jeong H, Mulligan C, Khan A, Vergeer L, L’Abbé MR. Evaluating the Proportion of Foods and Beverages in the Canadian Grocery and Chain Restaurant Food Supply That Would Be Restricted from Marketing to Children on Television and Digital Media. Nutrients. 2025 May 28;17(11):1828. doi: 10.3390/nu17111828. PMID: 40507097. View Online.
2. Blais A, Ahmed M, L’Abbé MR, Sellen D, Malik V. Evaluating the Nutritional Quality of School Food Programs in Canada Compared to National Nutritional Guidelines. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 May 8. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2024-0540. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40340505. View Online.
3. Yang Y, Flexner N, Tiscornia MV, Guarnieri L, Blanco-Metzler A, Núñez-Rivas H, Roselló-Araya M, Arévalo-Rodríguez P, Kroker-Lobos MF, Diez-Canseco F, Meza-Hernández M, Yabiku-Soto K, Saavedra-Garcia L, Allemandi L, Nederveen L, L’Abbé MR. Monitoring sodium content in packaged foods sold in the Americas and compliance with the updated regional sodium reduction targets. PLoS One. 2025 Apr 3;20(4):e0304922. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304922. PMID: 40179102; PMCID: PMC11967937. View Online.
4. Hamamji S, Zaltz D, L’Abbé MR. Cardiometabolic health, socioeconomic status, and 2019 Canada’s Food Guide Food Choices Assessment Score: Findings from the Canadian Health Measures Survey. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 Mar 17. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2024-0357. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40096711. View Online.
5. Ziraldo ER, Jeong H, Blais A, Ahmed M, Uji M, Yang Y, Malik V, Sellen D, L’Abbé MR. Grocery and chain restaurant foods and beverages allowed for sale in Ontario schools: An evaluation against Ontario’s School Food and Beverage Policy. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 Mar 17. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2024-0495. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40096710. View Online.
6. Flexner N, Zaltz D, Greenthal E, Musicus AA, Ahmed M, L’Abbé MR. Estimating the dietary and health impact of implementing mandatory front-of-package nutrient disclosures in the US: A policy scenario modeling analysis. PLoS One. 2025 Feb 24;20(2):e0312638. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312638. PMID: 39992995; PMCID: PMC11849812. View Online.
7. Middleton CG, Lee JJ, L’Abbé MR. Alignment of menu items offered in Canadian long-term care homes with Canada’s food guide and the Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines. BMC Public Health. 2025 Feb 13;25(1):593. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21803-7. PMID: 39939923; PMCID: PMC11823113. View Online.
8. Ziraldo E, Ahmed M, Mulligan C, Sellen D, L’Abbé M. Nutrient intakes of Canadian children and adolescents at school by meal occasion and location of food preparation. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 Jan 1;50:1-12. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2024-0027. PMID: 39878206. View Online.
9. Hamamji S, Ahmed M, Zaltz D, L’Abbé MR. Development and Evaluation of a Food Choices Assessment Score (FCAS) Measuring the Healthfulness of Dietary Choices According to 2019 Canada’s Food Guide/Canada’s Dietary Guidelines, using the Canadian Health Measures Survey Food Frequency Questionnaire. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 Jan 17. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2024-0305. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39823577. View Online.
10. Vergeer L, Mulligan C, Jeong H, Khan A, L’Abbé MR. The healthfulness of major food brands according to Health Canada’s nutrient profile model for proposed restrictions on food marketing to children. Public Health Nutr. 2025 Jan 7;28(1):e17. doi: 10.1017/S1368980024002659. PMID: 39764633. View Online.

In the News

• The What, How and Why of Ultra Processed Foods. MedPage Today. January 13, 2025.
• The Sweet Truth. VisionTV: TheZoomer. January 10 & 13, 2025.
• How much sugar is too much over the holidays? CBC Radio: Just Asking. December 28, 2024.
• Some Canadians feel duped by their breakfast cereal labels. CBC News: The National. January 11, 2024.

Current Lab Members

Alyssa Schermel – Lab Manager

Dr. Daniel Zaltz – Postdoctoral Fellow

Hayun (Sarah) Jeong – PhD student

Emily Ziraldo – PhD student

Laura Vergeer – Research Assistant