The Bank of England has confirmed that despite recent concerns regarding the use of tallow (animal fat) in the polymer £5 bank notes, the new £10 bank notes will also contain it.
According to the Bank of England, the £10 notes would be extremely costly to replace and therefore production will still go ahead. The £5 bank notes will also continue to circulate.
The Bank of England has claimed that it was not aware of the presence of animal-derived products when it signed the contract with its supplier for the bank notes.
In the early stages of the production process of polymer pellets, a small amount of tallow is used. These pellets are then used to create the base substrate for the note.
In a statement, the Bank of England said: “Given the public interest in bank notes, and the complex issues involved, the Bank is seeking further opinions on the use of animal-derived products and plant-based alternatives before making any decisions on the polymer used in future production runs of £5 and £10 polymer notes and the new £20 polymer note.”
Following the concern, the Bank will launch a consultation in March about the use of polymer substrate in future bank notes.
The new £10 bank notes are set to be issued in September as planned.
The new £20 polymer note is due to be issued by 2020, however, the Bank has delayed signing the contracts for the materials for the £20 polymer until the best way forward has been decided.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
