Australians ditch low-fat milk for full-cream as research clears misconception

Health-conscious Australians are ditching low-fat or skim milk for full cream milk after research showed that full-fat dairy products are not as harmful as previously thought.

The latest supermarket sales data provided by Dairy Australia showed that 71 per cent of the Australian milk market has now been captured by full cream milk—a staggering 10 per cent jump in popularity over 10 years.

“What is driving that is a realisation that full-fat dairy milk is not bad for you,” Glenys Zucco, a marketing manager and dietician with Dairy Australia, told the Guardian.

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She said that a decade ago, full-fat dairy products were associated with weight gain, heart disease, high cholesterol and chronic illnesses, she said.

"The saturated fats in regular fat dairy products don't have the same negative effect on heart disease risk as saturated fats found in other foods such as fatty meats, packaged sweets, pastries, and takeaway foods," she added.

But as those misconceptions regarding full-fat cream milk were found to be “untrue”, more Australians started avoiding skimmed milk.

“We know that regardless of the choice between dairy milks, the outcomes for our weight and heart health are not impacted,” Jemma O’Hanlon, the vice-president of Dieticians Australia told the UK newspaper.

“And we have known for years the benefits of milk in general,” O’Hanlon said, highlighting milk’s high levels of calcium and nutrients such as zinc and potassium.

According to ABC News, Australian per capita consumption of milk was 93 litres per person for the year 2021–22, which equals just over 250 millilitres per day.

Dairy Australia reported that drinking milk sales showed a small jumpduring the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increased demand for milk drove up the consumption of fresh drinking milk amongconsumers.

(With inputs from agencies)

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