The dairy industry has welcomed the government’s decision to include a ‘lactose allowance’ in the changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
The government has today announced that the sugar tax will now include milk-based and milk substitute drinks.
However, after industry feedback, it has introduced a lactose allowance to account for naturally occurring sugars in milk.
The allowance means that the 4.5g of sugar per 100ml limit will not include naturally occurring sugars and means that the “vast majority of lactose present in a milk-based drink will be excluded”.
The industry has long campaigned for a lactose allowance to recognise the health credentials of dairy drinks, such as vitamins, protein, calcium and other minerals.
While it was “disappointing” for milk drinks to be included within the levy, Dairy UK chief executive Dr Judith Bryans welcomed the introduction of a lactose allowance to recognise “the unique composition of dairy”.
“This will ensure that dairy companies do not pay the levy on naturally occurring lactose, as this is not a public health concern,” said Bryans.
Shaken Udder CEO Rob Reames echoed this saying that the government had “listened” to the sector.
“Whilst we may need to make some small tweaks to some of our products, it does mean that we should fall below the threshold across our portfolio by January 2028 without compromising taste or adding any artificial sweeteners,” said Reames.
Bryans added that it was also welcome that the government had increased the sugar threshold and extended the implementation date to 2028.
“This gives dairy companies valuable time to reformulate their products to meet the sugar thresholds,” she said.
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