Food watchdog promoting switch to low-fat milk

The Food Standards Agency is calling on people to move away from full fat and semi-skimmed milk to cut down on the amount of saturated fat they consume, pointing to consumer research which showed people to find it difficult to tell the difference.

But at a time when dairy farmers are quitting the industry at a rate of more than two a day the claims have provoked outcry in some circles.

Tory MP Stephen Crabb used a Parliamentary debate on dairy farming to criticise the Government for waging an "anti-dairy campaign" and accused it of making the dairy industry a scapegoat for its own failure to tackle obesity.

Mr Crabb told MPs: "There can be little doubt that the fluctuating price of milk and the increasing cost of milk production have contributed significantly to the lack of confidence in the dairy industry in recent years.

"The dairy sector is being made a scapegoat by the FSA because of the Government's rank failure to tackle the more profound drivers of obesity in this country."

The FSA is running its campaign via a series of newspaper, poster and radio advertisements and claims switching to skimmed or one per cent fat milk can help reduce the amount of fat we eat by 60 grammes a week. This is part of its long-running efforts to reduce the amount of saturated fat the country is consuming.

An FSA spokeswoman said it was not looking to put people off of dairy products.

"This advice includes simple changes that people can make to their diets which can make a big difference," she said. "The FSA recommends that a healthy balanced diet contains a variety of foods. This can include some dairy foods, which are a source of essential nutrients like calcium and some vitamins.

"We do, however, recommend that where possible, people should choose lower fat versions of dairy products, such as one per cent milk and reduced fat spreads."

The controversy comes at a time when two major retailers have signalled their intent to throw support behind the UK's ailing dairy industry.

The Co-operative Group this week confirmed its commitment to move to dedicated farm milk contracts once its integration of the Somerfield chain "is at a sufficiently advanced stage".

Meanwhile Sainsbury's has added Leeds-based Arla to its milk supplier roster as it seeks to bolster its supply ahead of an expansion programme.

A spokesman for the retailer said that it had also committed to invest an extra 40m in British dairy farming over three years.

Arla previously only supplied Sainsbury's with own-brand fresh cream and butter, but will now supply around 70 stores.

Sainsbury's business unit director for fresh and frozen foods, Simon Twigger, said: "At the heart of this re-structure was the drive to ensure farmers get the best possible deal, while at the same time ensuring that we can continue to offer customers a competitive price.

WHAT THE FSA RESEARCH SAID

After consumers across the country were surveyed, three out of four people said one per cent fat milk was as tasty as semi-skimmed.

Just under half were unable to taste the difference between the two, and 94 per cent said low-fat milk was an acceptable alternative.

Just under nine out of 10 consumers added that their children did not notice the difference when they gave it to them.

Drinking half a pint of full fat milk a day will cause you to consume 80 grammes of fat in a week whereas one per cent fat milk would reduce the fat intake to just 20 grammes

Dr Clair Baynton said: "We tend to use milk on a daily basis so this small step will make a big contribution to reducing our saturated fat intake."