'Soy milk contains as much protein as cow's milk'

The Consumer Council said on Monday that soy milk has the highest protein content compared to other plant-based milk alternatives. The watchdog tested 39 pre-packaged vegan milk products, including almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, oat milk, and soy milk. It said soy milk is the only alternative in which protein levels come close to a cup of low-fat dairy milk, but calcium and vitamin B2 levels for all plant-based milk products are significantly lower than normal milk. Kyrus Siu, chairman of the council’s publicity and community relations committee, said it’s important for consumers to eat a wide variety of foods to achieve a balanced diet. "We always recommend that consumers have diverse dietary sources, and not just from plant milk or even cow's milk. For calcium, consumers can have green vegetables and even other bean products like tofu," he said. "For protein, if you only count soy milk, it could be a good substitute for protein because it has a protein level equivalent to low-fat milk." The watchdog’s chief executive, Gilly Wong, advised consumers to read nutrition labels carefully when estimating their actual intake of calcium. "If you opt for other milk due to the taste, it's better to select those fortified milk with added calcium and added vitamin B2,” she said.