🧪 Calories

Calorie content, or energy value, is the amount of energy the body gets from food. It is measured in kilocalories (kcal) and kilojoules (kJ). In the EU, Regulation 1169/2011 requires energy to be stated per 100 g or 100 ml of a product in both units and calculated with uniform factors: 1 g of fat provides 9 kcal (37 kJ), protein and carbohydrates 4 kcal (17 kJ) each, and alcohol 7 kcal (29 kJ).

Let's do the sum for whole milk: according to the USDA, 100 g contains 3.25 g of fat, 3.15 g of protein and 4.8 g of carbohydrates. Fat provides 29 kcal, protein 13 and carbohydrates 19, about 61 kcal or 255 kJ in total. So roughly half of milk's energy comes from fat, and calorie content depends above all on fat content: 2% milk has 50 kcal, skimmed milk 34, heavy cream 340, butter 717 and Cheddar about 400 kcal per 100 g.

As a guide, EU labels use an adult's reference daily intake of 2,000 kcal (8,400 kJ). EFSA estimates the average requirement of moderately active people aged 18–29 at 11.2 MJ a day for men and 9.0 MJ for women.

Calories or kilojoules? They are the same energy in two units: EU labels must give both, per 100 g or 100 ml, and 1 g of fat provides 9 kcal (37 kJ). Whole milk comes to about 61 kcal, or 255 kJ. Compared with other dairy foods, milk is light: heavy cream has 340 kcal and butter 717, because fat carries more than twice the energy of protein or carbohydrate. Milk’s own sugar adds little, and the NHS does not count it as free sugar.

In the nutrition table, find the line “Energy” (kJ and kcal) per 100 ml; skimmed, semi-skimmed and whole milk are told apart by that figure and by the fat line. The label may also show a percentage of the 2,000 kcal reference intake. Check sweetened yoghurts, ice cream and condensed milk too, where added sugar raises the figure. You will see it on every carton in supermarkets and shops.

Why it matters to you. Compare the “Energy” line per 100 ml: by switching from whole to skimmed milk you almost halve the calories without losing calcium (113 versus 122 mg per 100 g). But the NHS does not recommend skimmed or 1% milk as the main drink for children under 5 — it has too few calories. The NHS does not count the sugar naturally present in milk as free sugar; calories from added sugar come from condensed milk, ice cream and sweetened yoghurts.