A number of religious leaders are considering banning £5 notes from their places of worship after it was revealed they contain traces of animal fat.
Waves of vegans and vegetarians in the UK have also been protesting against their dislike of the new five pound note because it contains traces of animal fat.
The Australian pioneer behind the polymer bank note was heard telling the Australian radio station 2GB that “It’s stupid. It’s absolutely stupid,” “There’s trivial amounts of it in there.”
Professor David Solomon says the polymer notes contain trivial amounts of tallow, an animal fat found in candles and soap. As a result the Bank of England is under intense pressure to remove or change the note.
More than 120,000 people have supported an online petition urging the Bank of England to cease using animal fat in the production of five pound notes.
Bank of England bosses could not confirm whether the tallow in the notes, which went into circulation in September, were made with animal fat which was Halal, or contained pork, making it another risk for Muslim and Jewish people.
The use of animal products also go against strict Hindus and Buddhists, who observe Ahimsa, which means not to injure living things.
Professor Solomon said polymer notes were extremely hard to forge and had a lot more benefits for the consumer than previous paper notes.
