Changes in milk law cause concern in the dairy sector

Consumers could be baffled by the relaxation of European Commission rules on fat levels in milk, according to dairy industry representatives.

Products outside of standard milk types whole milk, semi-skimmed and skimmed, such as Robert Wiseman's The One, containing 1% fat, could not previously be marketed as milk. But thanks to government plans to encourage healthier diets, they can now.

This opens up the market, but Dairy UK technical director Ed Komorowski was anxious about consumer confusion. "Consumers have grown familiar with current milks and their coloured caps," he said.

Arla is inviting retailers to indicate the new types of milk that would add value to the market, but said it was wary of bombarding consumers.

However, Wiseman said: "I think it disrespects consumers [to assume adding more milk varieties would cause confusion]. We're pleased the legislation has come through and we may change our packaging [to refer to The One as milk]."

Komorowski said new milk varieties could woo consumers, but that 1% and 2% milks could do so well, they could even replace semi-skimmed milk.