Diminished diet quality in the Caribbean and other island settings may be related to a dietary transition from local foods towards imported products. The current study aimed to characterise the association between intentionally purchasing local foods (IPLF) and diet quality in Puerto Rico (PR).

Cross-sectional study.

Primary care clinics in the PR metropolitan area.

Data were obtained from adult participants (30–75 years; n 243) of the Puerto Rico Assessment of Diet, Lifestyle, and Diseases. IPLF was probed by asking: ‘How often do you purposely purchase foods from PR (like fruits, vegetables, meat and other products that are produced on the island rather than being imported)?’ Dietary intake was measured using a FFQ, and diet quality was assessed by the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (range 0–110; higher scores indicating higher diet quality). Multivariate-adjusted generalised linear models tested the association between IPLF and Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI) and its component scores.

A third (33·9 %) of participants reported seldom, 33·5 % reported often and 30·6 % reported always IPLF. Compared with seldom IPLF, fully adjusted mean AHEI scores were 3·6 (P = 0·038) points higher among those often IPLF and 9·3 (P < 0·0001) points higher among those always IPLF. Compared with seldom IPLF, those who always IPLF had significantly higher fully adjusted mean component scores for vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes, trans fat and n-3 fats.

Adults in PR who intentionally purchase local foods had higher diet quality, especially for intake of plant-based foods and healthy fats, highlighting potential dietary benefits associated with improved local food availability in PR.