Consumers across the European Union may soon be confronted with a plethora of different milks as a result of an agreement among the bloc's agriculture ministers, officials said Thursday.

The ministers, meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, backed plans to liberalise the drinking milk market and allow the retail sale of milk with different fat contents.

At the moment, only whole (containing 3.5 per cent fat or more), semi-skimmed (between 1.5 and 1.8 per cent fat) and skimmed milk (0.5 per cent fat or less) can be sold.

While these categories will continue to exist, producers will also be allowed to market milk with other fat contents. The fat content will however have to be clearly marked on the packaging.

The measure is a response to changing nutritional habits and tastes by consumers.

Officials in Brussels said customers would likely be able to see the new types of milk fill shop and supermarket shelves as from early next year.

Agriculture ministers also agreed to promote low-fat milk in schools in an effort to combat increasing obesity among children.

Under a previous scheme designed to promote milk consumption among children, the EU gave more aid money to higher fat-content milk than to lower fat-content milk distributed in schools. dpa nr gma