Validation of the “Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale” for the French-Canadian adult population and association with diet quality

Food literacy is a set of interrelated knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to plan and manage, select, prepare, and eat food, which can be measured by the “Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale” (CAFPAS). This study aimed to validate the French translation of the CAFPAS and to explore the association between food literacy and diet quality. The French translation of the CAFPAS was completed within the NutriQuébec project, a web-based cohort in Quebec, Canada. Cronbach's alpha was used to evaluate the internal consistency of the scale. Associations between the total CAFPAS score and sociodemographic variables were explored to assess the construct validity of the scale. Diet quality was assessed with the Healthy Eating Food Index-2019 (HEFI-2019) and its association with food literacy was analysed. A total of 1204 participants (87.8 % women) were included. Cronbach's alpha values were equal to or higher than 0.85 for the total CAFPAS score and its three subscales. The total CAFPAS score was significantly associated with age ( p < 0.0001), household annual income ( p = 0.0076), and gender ( p = 0.0014), with women showing a higher level of food literacy than men. The total CAFPAS score was positively but weakly correlated with the total HEFI-2019 score ( r = 0.12; p = 0.0001). Globally, the French translation of the CAFPAS appeared to be a valid and reliable scale to assess food literacy in French-speaking adults in Canada. • Food literacy is important to cope with our complex food environment. • Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale (CAFPAS) can assess food literacy. • The French translation of the CAFPAS appeared to be a valid and reliable scale. • Food literacy was associated with age, household annual income, and gender. • Food literacy was weakly but significantly associated with diet quality.