Background: Dairy products, which are one of the main groups of products in the diet, are expected to have high nutritional value. The development of food technology often involves changing the nutritional parameters of foodstuffs.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional value of dairy products, in the context of nutrient profiles.
Material and methods: The tested products included yoghurts, yoghurt drinks, kefir, cream cheeses and milk desserts available on the Polish market, basing on the information from unit product packaging.
Results: The average sugar content in the group of all products was 11 g/100 g. Milk desserts contained the largest amount of sugar (average 14.7 g/100g), whereas kefir – the smallest amount (average 6 g/100 g) (p <0.0001). Yoghurts and yoghurt drinks intended for children had higher sugar content than products for the general population (14.4 g vs. 10.5 g/100 g) (p <0.0001). As many as 75% of products were sweetened. Taking into account the natural content of lactose, the estimated amount of added sugar ranged from 6.9 - 12.3 g/100 g. The average fat content in the group of all products amounted to 3.8 g/100 g. In the view of WHO profiles, 71% of products exceeded the permissible sugar content (≤ 10 g/100 g) and 36% exceeded the permissible content of saturated fatty acids (≤ 2 g/100 g). Using more liberal profiles developed by the food industry, the proportion of such products was smaller, but still quite high (34% in case of sugar and 26% in case of saturated fatty acids). In terms of the sugar content, according to regulation introduced in Poland, only 29% of the analyzed dairy products could be offer for children at schools. Among them there are all natural (not sweetened) yoghurts and kefir and only 6% of other sweetened products.
Conclusions: There is a justified need for the reformulation of dairy products, especially in terms of added sugar.