The Bank of England has announced that it will be changing its polymer notes and is working on potential solutions after upsetting Vegans, vegetarians, and other animal advocates over their animal-fat-infused £5 bank note.
"Information recently provided by our supplier, Innovia, and its supply chain shows that an extremely small amount of tallow is used in an early stage of the production process of polymer pellets, which are then used to create the base substrate for the five-pound note," Governor Mark Carney said in a statement.
In a Twitter post, the Bank of England confirmed the traces of tallow in the polymer pallets used in the base substrate of the polymer notes.Tallow is a substance produced from animal fat from beef or mutton.
The news sparked an uproar from netizens who started a petition to "cease to use animal products in the production of currency." The petition gained more than 120,000 supporters.
"We are aware of some people's concerns about traces of tallow in our new five-pound note," Carney added. "We respect those concerns and are treating them with the utmost seriousness."
Last September, the Bank signed a deal with Innovia to switch its bank notes to polymer bills. According to officials they did not know of this issue upon signing the contract. In an official statement, officials say that the new polymer notes would be cleaner, stronger, and would last around five years.
According to a report in Telegraph.co.uk, officials claim that the new notes bearing the image of Sir Winston Churchill are harder to counterfeit. Carney advises people to store notes flat in their wallets rather than folding them to avoid damaging the note.
"Innova is now working intensively with its supply chain and will keep the Bank informed on progress towards potential solutions," Carney added.
The new polymer £10 note will be issued in summer 2017 and the £20 note by 2020.