Healthy Eating Program Component 2

• Completed and signed financial assistance application form
• Completed supplementary information template for Volet 2 and completed Annex 1 Plan de financement
• CV and proof of expertise for the external consultant or internal specialist, plus the consultant’s service offer or the internal specialist’s pay slip
• Financial statements for one full 12-month operating year prepared by an external CPA, or a detailed business plan for businesses with less than one full year of operation
• The product label to be improved, including the nutrition facts table, and official supporting documents that validate eligible expenses

Who is eligible?

• Applicants that already market at least one food in Quebec at the time of application.
• Food processing companies.
• Companies that outsource the processing of their foods.
• Companies that own a central kitchen.
• Groups of food processing companies.

Who is not eligible

• Businesses registered in the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA)
• Applicants under the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act or the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act
• Applicants that failed to meet their obligations, after formal notice, under previous financial assistance from the ministre de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation during the two years preceding the application
• Applicants convicted by final judgment, during the two years preceding the application, of an offence under laws or regulations under the responsibility of the ministre de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation
• Applicants whose activities are limited to restaurant activities, which are not considered food processing activities under the program

Eligible expenses

• Professional fees and travel expenses for external consultants, and salaries of internal specialists and partners for time spent on the project.
• Raw materials used in laboratory and industrial-scale tests, up to $30,000, and equipment purchases related to quality control of the developed or modified product.
• External laboratory or consultant costs for nutritional analyses, preparation of the nutrition facts table and ingredient list, and shelf-life analyses.
• Rental of equipment, laboratories, or premises needed for development or pilot trials, and staff training costs related to the project.
• External consultant costs for packaging changes to achieve adequate shelf life, eco-responsible packaging research and development, taste tests and product trials, packaging material changes linked to revised nutrition labelling, and participation in MAPAQ-recognized events to promote the product’s health aspect.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Expenses related to projects that are eligible under other streams of the program.
• Salaries paid to company staff who do not participate in carrying out the project.
• Software and computer equipment, except software and computer equipment associated with quality control of the product developed or improved as part of the project, and consumables.
• The refundable portion of GST and QST, and the applicant’s normal ongoing operating expenses.
• Land acquisition and loan repayment.

Eligible geographic areas

• Quebec

• The experience and expertise of the external consultant or internal specialist responsible for carrying out the project.
• The applicant’s technical, organizational, and administrative capacity to complete the project.
• The significance and real impact of the foods developed or modified on the food supply available to Quebec consumers, and the products’ availability to those consumers.
• The company’s financial situation and its ability to ensure the project’s viability.
• The realism of the work plan and financing plan, and the clarity of the project description and planning.

• Read the full program text.
• Consult the applicant guide for Volet 2.
• Complete the financial assistance application form, the supplementary information template for Volet 2, and Annex 1 Plan de financement.
• Gather the mandatory supporting documents for Volet 2, including the product label to be improved and its nutrition facts table.
• Send all mandatory documents in a single email to transfo@mapaq.gouv.qc.ca before March 31, 2029 or until program funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.

• After a financial assistance application is submitted, the Ministry sends an acknowledgement of receipt; if additional information is needed or a required document is missing, it sends a written request by email.
• For a complete application where the applicant and project are eligible, the Ministry sends a confirmation of receivability; incomplete applications are rejected, and non-eligible applications receive a decision notice explaining the reasons and the file is closed.
• The confirmation of receivability does not guarantee funding or create an obligation for the Ministry; if aid is granted, expenses become eligible from the date the complete application was submitted.
• Once eligibility is established, the application is analyzed based on the expertise of the consultant or internal specialist, the applicant’s technical, organizational and administrative capacity, the project’s impact and product availability for Quebec consumers, the company’s financial situation, and the realism and clarity of the work and financing plans.
• After evaluation, the Ministry notifies the applicant of its decision; if the project is approved, the applicant must sign a convention d’aide financière setting the conditions and payment terms, and if the project is refused, the applicant receives the reasons and may request a review within 20 working days of the decision notice.

• Generative AI may be used in preparing the application, but its use must be disclosed, including the tools or algorithms used and any parameters, where applicable.
• Pre-application support is available, but it does not guarantee receivability or acceptance of the application.
• A review request cannot consider project changes, added information, or new documents that were not included in the initial application.
• For Volet 2, a project is considered complete only when all eligible expenses have been paid and all deliverables have been submitted.