More than 40% rise in the number of Guernsey residents consuming full-fat milk

GUERNSEY COWS
The survey also asked respondents to consider how passionately they felt about Guernsey cows, the dairy industry and locally produced milk and milk products. Credit: ITV Channel

More Guernsey residents are making the switch to Full-Cream milk, according to a recent island-wide survey.

Around 2,400 islanders participated in the Island Global Research survey, last conducted in 2019.

It found a 43.75% rise in the number of Guernsey residents choosing full-fat (red carton) milk between 2019 and this year.

It follows a UK trend, with the Waitrose Food & Drink Report 2023-2024 saying that people aged between 18 and 24 are increasingly switching to full-fat products.

The Waitrose report states: "Over the past year, a third of people surveyed said they have switched from eating a low-fat dairy product to a full-fat one.

"The two motivations for changing are concerns about hidden sugars in more processed lower-fat foods and preferring the taste of full-fat products."

Despite this, low-fat (blue carton) milk remains the most frequently consumed across Guernsey.

The survey also found that nine out of ten islanders still regularly drink locally-produced milk.

This was despite 36% of households consuming non-dairy alternatives, an increase from 31% in 2019.

However, 15% of islanders were unhappy with the controls on non-Guernsey milk imports.

Almost one in five islanders said Guernsey milk was not worth the money, with the number of households purchasing Guernsey Cheese falling by 9% since 2019.

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