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Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, The University of Reading
Food Labelling in the UK - A supporting material page

Cream definitions and names

The following definitions and terms have been defined/specified by the Provision Trade Federation (PTF) in the UK. Whilst not legally binding, they do establish a basis for a judgement as to what might be considered 'misleading'.

For a copy the document produced by the PTF, see: Code of Practice on Compositional Standards for Cream Designations in the UK.

Definitions

“Cream” means that part of milk rich in fat which has been separated by skimming or otherwise and which is intended for sale for human consumption. The milk can come from cows, goats or sheep.
“Clotted cream” means cream which has been produced and separated by the scalding, cooling and skimming (in no particular order) of milk or cream.
“Sour cream” or “soured cream” means cream which has been fermented with harmless microorganisms or through acidification.
“Sterilised cream” means cream which has been subjected to a process of sterilisation by heat treatment in the container in which it is to be supplied to the consumer.

Specifications

Name of cream	Requirement
Clotted cream	The cream is clotted and contains not less than 55 per cent milk fat (w/w).
Double cream	The cream contains not less than 48 per cent milk fat (w/w).
Whipping cream	The cream contains not less than 35 per cent milk fat (w/w).
Whipped cream	The cream contains not less than 35 per cent milk fat (w/w) and has been whipped.
Sterilised cream	The cream is sterilised cream and contains not less than 23 per cent milk fat (w/w).
Cream or single cream	The cream is not sterilised cream and contains not less than 18 per cent milk fat(w/w).
Sterilised half cream	The cream is sterilised cream and contains not less than 12 per cent milk fat (w/w).
Half cream	The cream is not sterilised cream and contains not less than 12 per cent milk fat (w/w).
Sour or Soured cream	The cream has been fermented with harmless microorganisms or through acidification.
Sweet cream	Cream skimmed from the higher butterfat layer of milk before homogenisation.
Crème fraiche	Sour cream with a milk fat content of not less than 25% (w/w).

Notes:

The Codes states that the name specified in column 1 above shall only be used in the labelling or advertising of cream when the cream complies with the corresponding requirements specified in column 2 (whether qualified by other words or not). The only exception to this is the relevant requirement for milk fat content, which may be different if qualifying words indicate that it is so. No product described in this Code shall have a fat content below 10%.
The Code specifies that in calculating the percentage of milk fat in cream, any ingredient added to the cream shall be disregarded.
The Code also states that for varieties where the milk fat content has been modified to be lower than that found in the standard designation provided below, the descriptors “reduced fat” and “half fat” along with the cream designation can be utilised for labelling purposes. According to the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC 1924/2006), a claim stating that a food has “reduced fat” may only be made where the reduction in content is at least 30% compared to a similar product which is representative of the category.

For the main index page for this site, go to Food Labelling in the UK: A Guide to the Legal Requirements