Sugars in dairy products of different flavours

Abstract

Nutritional recommendations suggest reducing sugar intake to below 10% of energy intake. Although dairy products are not regarded as an important source of sugar, flavoured milk products can provide significant amounts. Moreover, they are a source of lactose, which should be restricted by people with lactose intolerance. The content of fructose, glucose, sucrose and lactose was analysed in 54 dairy products using HPLC-ELSD. These were: yoghurts, yoghurt drinks, buttermilks, kefirs and homogenised cheeses of different flavours. The content of fructose in all analysed products was 0.7–4.1 g 100 g−1, glucose 0.2–4.0 g 100 g−1, sucrose 3.7–10.6 g 100 g−1 and lactose 1.8–5.2 g 100 g−1. Products from different categories and different flavours generally did not differ among each other due to the high variability of sugar content. Finally, most of products significantly contributed to the daily intake of sugars, so reformulation of their composition is suggested.