Glossary

Lactose

Lactose is the sugar in milk. The allergen category is milk, including lactose. A lactose-free milk, cheese or yoghurt is still milk and must be emphasised. Lactose-free is not dairy-free.

Reviewed 23 September 2026 against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.

In practice

People who are lactose intolerant and people who are allergic to milk protein are not in the same position, but the label does not try to be a clinical note. It emphasises milk when milk is an ingredient.

Ghee, whey, casein, butter and goat’s cheese are milk. Oat, soya, almond and coconut drinks are not milk — they have their own allergens, or in coconut’s case none of the named tree nuts. Do not emphasise milk for them unless dairy milk is actually in the recipe.

Questions

Do I emphasise milk on lactose-free milk?

Yes. Lactose-free cow’s milk is milk.

Is lactose one of the 14 allergens by itself?

It sits inside milk. The name you emphasise is milk.

Official sources

Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.

Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK