As many cultural and religious traditions have certain dietary requirements, it can sometimes be tricky knowing what foods to serve. Therefore QFCC has put together this Food Guide.
Index: Baha’i Faith – Buddhist – Christian Western (Catholic/Protestant) – Christian Eastern (Orthodox Churches) – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Hindu – ISKCON (Hare Krishna) – Jewish – Muslim – Pagan – Sikh – Sufi
Baha’i Faith
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
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| Fish and other seafood |
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| Milk and Milk products |
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| Fruit and Vegetables |
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| Bread and Cereals |
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| Soups and Sauces |
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| Fats and Oils |
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| Beverages |
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No alcohol either as drinks or for use in cooking – for medicinal use only |
| Other |
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Baha’is fast between sunrise and sunset for 19 days in March (either 1 to 20 March or 2 to 21 March depending on the year) |
| For Baha’is all foods are acceptable and diet is a matter of personal choice. |
Buddhist
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
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Most Buddhists are vegetarians
Mahayana: strict vegetarian
Tibetan: prefer vegetarian
Theravada: no strict requirements |
| Fish and other Seafood |
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| Milk and Milk products |
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| Fruit and Vegetables |
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Mahayana: no onion or garlic |
| Bread and Cereals |
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| Soups and Sauces |
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| Fats and Oils |
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| Beverages |
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Consumption of alcohol for lay Buddhists is a personal choice |
| Other |
Theravada Monks and Nuns eat before noon with nothing consumed after noon. This does not apply to other traditions.
Lay Buddhists have no strict rules and it is a matter of personal choice. |
|
Christian – Western (Catholic/Protestant)
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
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Catholics fast and do not eat meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the beginning and end of the six week Lenten Season (February to April).
For Protestants, fasting of any type is a personal choice. |
| Fish and other Seafood |
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| Milk and Milk products |
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| Fruit and Vegetables |
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| Bread and Cereals |
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| Soups and Sauces |
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| Fats and Oils |
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| Beverages |
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Some Christians (e.g. The Salvation Army) do not drink alcohol |
| Other |
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| For Christians, all foods are acceptable. When no fast is prescribed, there are no prohibited foods. |
Christian – Eastern (Orthodox Churches)
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
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No meat during periods of fasting |
| Fish and other Seafood |
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No fish, except at weekends, during major fasting times. |
| Milk and Milk products |
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No dairy products or eggs when fasting |
| Fruit and Vegetables |
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| Bread and Cereals |
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| Soups and Sauces |
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| Fats and Oils |
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No olive oil, and in some cases, no oil of any type, during fasting periods |
| Beverages |
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Alcohol is not drunk on fasting days, except wine on some weekends, and in some traditions, beer |
| Other |
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For Christians, all foods are acceptable. When no fast is prescribed, there are no prohibited foods.
Orthodox Christians follow a basically Vegan diet during periods of fasting. The most significant of these is the Great Lenten Fast which occurs during the six weeks prior to Orthodox Easter. There are three other periods of fasting as well as specific days of fasting and feasting.
In general, the more observant Orthodox Christians fast every Wednesday and Friday.
See https://orthodoxwiki.org/Fasting for further details. The wisest way to proceed when planning an event is to consult a local priest.
Many Christians are committed to eating foods which are ethically sourced and minimise harm to the environment. |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
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| Fish and other Seafood |
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| Milk and Milk products |
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| Fruit and Vegetables |
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| Bread and Cereals |
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| Soups and Sauces |
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| Fats and Oils |
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| Beverages |
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No alcohol, tea or coffee |
| Other |
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No smoking |
| For Latter Day Saints, all foods are acceptable and they are able to eat anything in moderation. |
Hindu
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
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Many Hindus follow a lacto- vegetarian diet , therefore no meat (especially beef) , poultry |
| Fish and other Seafood |
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No fish, or eggs |
| Milk and Milk products |
These are allowed and encouraged |
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| Fruit and Vegetables |
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| Bread and Cereals |
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| Soups and Sauces |
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| Fats and Oils |
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| Beverages |
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| Other |
Brahmins may have restrictions on who prepares their food and how it is stored. There are many fasting days. |
ISKCON (Hare Krishna)
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
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Devotees are generally lacto-vegetarian, therefore no meat, poultry. |
| Fish and other Seafood |
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No fish or eggs |
| Milk and Milk products |
Milk and dairy products are fine |
Cheese cannot be produced with animal rennet |
| Fruit and Vegetables |
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No onion, garlic or mushrooms |
| Bread and Cereals |
Strict observers require grain products to be produced by other devotees |
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| Soups and Sauces |
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| Fats and Oils |
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| Beverages |
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No alcohol or caffeine (i.e. tea,coffee, chocolate) |
| Other |
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Jewish
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
Must be killed and prepared in a kosher way, which includes draining and soaking blood from the meat. It needs to be kosher certified |
No pork, ham, bacon, rabbit |
| Fish and other Seafood |
Fish must have scales |
No shellfish (e.g. prawns) or crustaceans or fish without scales |
| Milk and Milk products |
Milk (including coconut milk and other substitutes), cheese, yoghurt |
No cheese produced with animal rennet. No gelatine. |
| Fruit and Vegetables |
Sourced in Australia to avoid additives |
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| Bread and Cereals |
Kosher bread should be from a certified kosher bakery |
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| Soups and Sauces |
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| Fats and Oils |
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| Beverages |
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| Other |
Strictly observant kosher requires a hechser or kosher symbol on the packet |
Meat and dairy foods cannot be eaten together in the same meal. |
FOOD GROUPSYESNO
Muslim
| Meat |
Meat must be killed the halal way which includes prayer, draining and soaking blood from the meat |
No pork, ham, bacon, rabbit, carrion, birds of prey |
| Fish and other Seafood |
All seafood is permissible |
|
| Milk and Milk products |
Milk, cream, cheese , ice- cream. They must all have halal ingredients. Cheese and gelatine should be from halal animals |
No animal based food colouring. |
| Fruit and Vegetables |
All fruit and vegetables should preferably be Australian grown |
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| Bread and Cereals |
Most bread. Emulsifiers must be from a halal source |
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| Soups and Sauces |
Soups and sauces must be from halal products. Only pure vegetable soup |
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| Fats and Oils |
Olive oil, vegetable oil and rice bran oil |
No animal fat or lard from non-halal animals |
| Beverages |
Tea, coffee |
No alcohol |
| Other |
Sweets and jellies from halal products only |
For strict observers, vanilla extract is not permitted |
| Fasting (no food or drink) from sunrise to sunset, is required during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Muslims are allowed to eat as much as they like after sunset and are encouraged to invite family and friends to join them. The date of Ramadan moves forward each year. |
Pagan
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
Pagans who eat meat generally prefer to source their meat from high animal welfare producers who are organic or free range and humanely killed |
Vegetarians, piscetarians and vegans |
| Fish and other Seafood |
Pagans who eat seafood generally prefer wild caught/sustainably sourced product over farmed |
Vegetarians and vegans |
| Milk and Milk products |
Preference is to support small, local dairies and producers of milk, cream, butter, cheeses and yoghurt (or make own). |
Non-animal rennet and gelatine for vegetarians, none for vegans |
| Fruit and Vegetables |
All -preference for organic, home grown |
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| Bread and Cereals |
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No animal additives for vegetarian, vegan |
| Soups and Sauces |
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No animal additives for vegetarian, vegan |
| Fats and Oils |
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No animal fats/oils for vegetarians, vegans |
| Beverages |
Preference for organic/fair trade tea, coffee and chocolate. |
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| Other |
Most Pagans take into account the ethics of where their food comes from when choosing what to eat -sustainable, organic, free range, nonGM, food miles travelled, what is in season, are taken into consideration. |
For vegans no animal product at all – no honey, eggs, dairy. |
Milk and Milk productsMilk, Butter, Cream, Cheese, Yoghurt, Ice Cream, Coconut milk and other milk substitutes
Sikh
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
Non-halal meat for non- vegetarians |
Most Sikhs are vegetarian |
| Fish and other seafood |
|
Most Sikhs are vegetarian |
| Fruit and Vegetables |
All |
|
| Bread and Cereals |
Bread, pasta, noodles and rice |
Nothing made with eggs, egg whites or animal based emulsifiers |
| Soups and Sauces |
All made with vegetables and vegetable stock |
No animal fats, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce |
| Fats and Oils |
Vegetable oils, butter, margarine (using vegetable oils), Ghee |
No animal fats, lard, suet, fish oils |
| Beverages |
Fruit or milk based, Soft drinks (e.g. lemonade) |
No alcohol or fermented drinks (e.g. ale) |
| Other |
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No animal based: thickeners (e.g. chitin); food colouring (e.g. cochineal/carmine); emulsifiers (e.g. lecithin); enzymes (e.g. lipase, pepsin, rennet); Gelatine (in chocolate or ice-cream) |
Sufi
| FOOD GROUPS |
YES |
NO |
| Meat |
Meat must be killed the halal way which includes prayer, draining and soaking blood from the meat |
No pork, ham, bacon, rabbit, carrion, birds of prey |
| Fish and other Seafood |
All seafood is permissible |
|
| Milk and Milk products |
Milk, cream, cheese, ice cream.
They must all have halal ingredients. Cheese and gelatine should be from halal animals. |
No animal based food colouring |
| Fruit and Vegetables |
All fruit and vegetables should preferably be Australian grown |
|
| Bread and Cereals |
Most bread. Emulsifiers must be from a halal source |
|
| Soups and Sauces |
Soups and sauces must be from halal products. Only pure vegetable soup |
|
| Fats and Oils |
Olive oil, vegetable oil and rice bran oil |
No animal fat or lard from non-halal animals |
| Beverages |
Tea, coffee |
No alcohol |
| Other |
Sweets and jellies from halal products only |
For strict observers, vanilla extract is not permitted |
| Fasting (no food or drink) from sunrise to sunset, is required during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Sufis are allowed to eat as much as they like after sunset and are encouraged to invite family and friends to join them. The date of Ramadan moves forward each year. |