The use of a derivate of animal fat in the new £5 note is “totally and utterly unacceptable”, the Hindu Forum of Britain has said, following revelations about the currency’s manufacture.
It came to light this week that the new note contains tallow, a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, sometimes used in the production of items including soap and candles.
The revelation left many vegans and vegetarians horrified but has prompted concern among faith groups who have rules against consuming or using beef in manufacturing processes.
Trupti Patel from the Hindu Forum of Britain, told the BBC: “Using a non-vegetarian source is totally and utterly unacceptable.
“In this country we spend so much time and effort on interfaith matters, so much time and effort on being sensitive to each other’s needs and then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, without any consultation, these notes come out with traces of non-vegetarian material.
“Now you would think that’s okay, there are Hindus who are vegetarians and non-vegetarians, what is the difference? Well in this day and age, if we think about it, it is possible to create everything artificially, even diamonds are created artificially, so I can’t see any need for creating a £5 note with non-vegetarian material.”
The BBC also reported that some British Hindu leaders said they would be discussing a possible ban on the notes from temples.
It comes as a petition to the Bank of England to remove tallow from the manufacturing process was on Wednesday nearing 100,000 signatures.
The petition on Change.org said: “The new £5 notes contain animal fat in the form of tallow. This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the UK.
“We demand that you cease to use animal products in the production of currency that we have to use.”
Many vegetarians and vegans have expressed their shock over fat being present in the £5 note.