Lactose scanner
Scan or search a product and see which ingredients point to lactose — milk sugar hiding under names that don’t say “milk” — with the label term behind every match.
What a lactose scanner looks for
Lactose is the sugar naturally found in milk, and it turns up in far more products than the dairy aisle. FoodBuddy’s dictionary flags the label names it hides behind: lactose itself, whey, whey powder, milk powder, milk solids, skimmed milk powder, and buttermilk. Our lactose label-names guide and the lactose section of the intolerances hub cover the full picture, including where casein (a milk protein, not the sugar) fits in.
Who uses a lactose scanner
People managing lactose intolerance who want to check packaged and processed foods — baked goods, sauces, cured meats and snacks — not just the obvious dairy products, since lactose is a common filler and texturiser well beyond milk and cheese. FoodBuddy doesn’t test digestion or set a personal threshold for you; it shows where the label says lactose-related ingredients are present so you can decide against your own tolerance.
Set your profile once — switch on lactose as an interest area and choose a sensitivity level.
Check a product — scan the label, search the database, or look it up by barcode.
Read the breakdown — every matched ingredient shows the label term, the match type, and why it was flagged.
Why “non-dairy”-looking products still need a check
Whey and milk powder turn up in bread, crisps, instant sauces, processed meats and even some medications, usually as a cheap protein or texture booster rather than a headline ingredient. A product that looks nothing like dairy on the front of the pack can still list one of these terms on the back — which is exactly the gap a fresh check on the current label closes, every time, rather than trusting a category by appearance.
Match confidence, shown honestly
Each result is labelled by certainty: a direct match is a known lactose-related name; a keyword match resembles one closely enough to flag but not confirm; an unverified result means the scanner couldn’t identify the term confidently. Full detail is in our methodology.
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Related: Lactose ingredients · Lactose label-names guide · Ingredient checker