LONDON—In response to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence and Health's report on cardiovascular disease, The Dairy Council noted that the dairy industry is working very closely and productively with the Food Standards Agency to deliver reductions in saturated fat and salt. The reductions are in line with recommendations which the World Health Organization (WHO) see as being important in human health.
"As an industry, we have always supported public health recommendations and we’ve been providing good quality low-fat options for a long time,” said Dairy Council Director Dr. Judith Bryans. “Consumption of skimmed and semi-skimmed milk has been on the rise for more than 30 years. And the move toward lower fat milk has taken another major step forward recently with the launch of new varieties containing less than 1 percent fat.”
She added that cheese makers have already removed a substantial amount of salt from their products and are busy developing new brands with lower fat content. It is important for those making recommendations to bear in mind that there is only so much salt that can be removed from food before food safety is affected.
“We've been promoting food responsibly, supported by the EU, for years. For example, as an industry, we’ve promoted low fat milk to school children through the EU School Milk Scheme and we are currently running two EU-funded campaigns, Make Mine Milk and Milk in Action, both of which promote low fat milk to different groups of young people,” she said. “The dairy industry is committed to helping achieve government’s goals in improving public health and ensuring that consumers can make the informed choices they need to suit their diets.”
