to think that 3.5% fat is 'low-fat'?

[springsprang]

Crisps, yoghurts and ready meals have low-fat plastered all over them and contain more than 3.5% fat. Blue top milk is seen as a horrifying health risk as it's 'full fat', but surely if it's only 3.5% fat we should be rejoicing in it's creamy loveliness instead of it being so vilified?

I agree. And the fat's got vitamins A and D.

Someone told me years ago that under 5% is low fat. That has probably changed by now but I agree - whole milk is much better for you than crisps and ready meals.

Yep, less than 5% fat is low fat so even "full fat" milk is a low fat food (drink). I think semi skimmed has more calcium in though. We have full fat since having dd as I'm not faffing with different milks and it's flipping lovely!

I have just looked up the Food Standards Agency's Labelling Guidelines .... Low fat is less than 3%!

<a class="break-all" href="http://tna.europarchive.org/20120419000433/www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/foodlabels0808.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tna.europarchive.org/20120419000433/www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/foodlabels0808.pdf

I always thought it was 5% too.

Boring fact.

In my old job a long long time ago, I worked in a dairy laboratory. I can tell you more than you need to know about fat content, homogenised, protein, osmolality and the bacteria content in milk.

We used to add extra vitamins for the milk for the USAF base up the road.

So it's only the reduced fat, lower fat, less fat, and 'healthy' labels that I can compare it with? Which, to be honest, is probably worse.

I always wanted to know about the osmolality in milk Orlando (I don't even know what that means).

5% full Fat

1.7 -1.9% Semi skimmed

0.1%-like what is the point in that milk, it's got nothing in at all milk.

HTH

We made milk for all the supermarkets.It was exactly the same milk. Except some milk had a longer use by /sell by date on.

0.1%-like what is the point in that milk, it's got nothing in at all milk.

Dietary fat isn't the same as body fat though. Fat in food won't make you fat and low fat food tastes like shite anyway

(Maybe missing the point of the thread)

DrOpThePirate How do you know what shite tastes like? And does the fat content of shite have an impact on it's taste?

Dr)p I'm going to miss the point with you. I refuse to buy anything that's marked as low fat. there's plenty of good stuff I do eat that is low fat (apples, bread, lean meat?) but if they've felt the need to label it low fat, I'm not buying it because it's had all the taste and a lot of the nutrients removed and often replaced by sugar or fillers.

And yes Faded shite with fat would undoubtedly taste better than low fat shite

I'd like to know about osmolality too please. My dairy farming knowledge ends at Dairyland.

How on earth did my spell checker know that word when it constantly screws up my dc's names .

Who sees full fat milk as a horrifying health risk?

YABU beause your initial premise makes no sense.

Orlando , are you my sister? What she can't tell me about milk isn't worth knowing. BHam dairy?

FadedRed well I've smelt shite and the rest is my imagination. I can't be far off

And yes, full fat shite is infinity better for your health than low fat.

Low fat shite is full of sugar! Bleugh!

Artificially low fat food is best avoided at all costs. When they remove the fat it's usually replaced with sugar to keep the taste, sugar is much worse for you than fat, and most studies now suggest that insulin spikes in the body caused by sugar are what makes people store energy as fat. Buy the full fat stuff and just have a bit less! (I strongly urge everyone to watch the documentary Fed Up, it's on Netflix)

I remember watching a Jenny Craig dieting video back in the 90s for some reason, and this dreadful American woman was sitting there stirring butter into skim milk saying "That's what you are drinking if you drink full fat milk!' and I remember thinking, that doesn't look too bad actually (which is probably why I was watching a Jenny Craig diet video now I come to think of it...)

I realise the fat thing has been debunked but it is still calories at the end of the day (though you could argue you eat less of them if you are more satisfied by them)

Have you tried lo-fat, lo-sugar, salt free shite?

No that is shite

YANBU, it seems completely irrational to fret about the fat content in full fat milk, when it's lower than the fat content in most "reduced fat" processed foods.

I know loads of people who actively avoid full fat milk because they think it's so fattening, but will happily eat biscuits or a bit of cake every day with their cups of tea, unbothered by the fact that the full fat milk is lower in fat than the biscuits and came.

ShadowFire I think what you type makes sense if you are only having milk in tea or coffee, however I drink several pints of milk each day.

This is probably unhealthy, but I think I am lowering the damage by drinking semi-skimmed.

I've tried skimmed, but it is just white water to me

I drink semi skimmed milk because full fat milk tastes absolutely disgusting to me. My kids hate it as well. Not really bothered about the lower level of fat soluble vitamins because I eat a varied diet.
As far as sugar being added to low fat foods, not always. Check the label.

When my Dad was young, he drank milk from the cow. They used to come round with a horse and an urn of unpasteurised milk.

Apparently it was lovely