Low-Fat Label On Milk Carton Doesn’t Mean Low In Fat

“Low-fat,” says the label. But low-fat it is not. Milk labeled “2 percent, low-fat” actually gets 38 percent of its calories from fat, exceeding the government’s limit for foods labeled “low-fat.”

The “2 percent” refers to the fat portion of the milk’s weight, not calories. So how do dairies get away with calling 2 percent milk low-fat? When the latest federal labeling law took effect last year, milk was granted an exemption on the low-fat issue after lobbying by some dairy-industry groups.

But it appears this labeling will soon change. Joined by consumer groups, the Milk Industry Foundation has petitioned the government for permission to label 2 percent milk “reduced fat” rather than low-fat.

The request followed negative publicity about the existing labels, which critics called misleading.

Two-percent milk is the top-selling milk across the country, followed by whole milk and, more distantly, by skim milk and 1 percent milk.