Food Guide

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 FaithBuddhistChristian Western (Catholic/Protestant)Christian Eastern (Orthodox Churches)The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsHinduISKCON (Hare Krishna)JewishMuslimPaganSikhSufi

Baha’i Faith

FOOD GROUPS YES NO
Meat
Fish and other seafood
Milk and Milk products
Fruit and Vegetables
Bread and Cereals
Soups and Sauces
Fats and Oils
Beverages No alcohol either as drinks or for use in cooking – for medicinal use only
Other 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 Most Buddhists are vegetarians
Mahayana: strict vegetarian
Tibetan: prefer vegetarian
Theravada: no strict requirements
Fish and other Seafood
Milk and Milk products
Fruit and Vegetables Mahayana: no onion or garlic
Bread and Cereals
Soups and Sauces
Fats and Oils
Beverages 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 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
Milk and Milk products
Fruit and Vegetables
Bread and Cereals
Soups and Sauces
Fats and Oils
Beverages Some Christians (e.g. The Salvation Army) do not drink alcohol
Other
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 No meat during periods of fasting
Fish and other Seafood No fish, except at weekends, during major fasting times.
Milk and Milk products No dairy products or eggs when fasting
Fruit and Vegetables
Bread and Cereals
Soups and Sauces
Fats and Oils No olive oil, and in some cases, no oil of any type, during fasting periods
Beverages Alcohol is not drunk on fasting days, except wine on some weekends, and in some traditions, beer
Other
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
Fish and other Seafood
Milk and Milk products
Fruit and Vegetables
Bread and Cereals
Soups and Sauces
Fats and Oils
Beverages No alcohol, tea or coffee
Other 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 Many Hindus follow a lacto- vegetarian diet , therefore no meat (especially beef) , poultry
Fish and other Seafood No fish, or eggs
Milk and Milk products These are allowed and encouraged
Fruit and Vegetables
Bread and Cereals
Soups and Sauces
Fats and Oils
Beverages
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 Devotees are generally lacto-vegetarian, therefore no meat, poultry.
Fish and other Seafood No fish or eggs
Milk and Milk products Milk and dairy products are fine Cheese cannot be produced with animal rennet
Fruit and Vegetables No onion, garlic or mushrooms
Bread and Cereals Strict observers require grain products to be produced by other devotees
Soups and Sauces
Fats and Oils
Beverages No alcohol or caffeine (i.e. tea,coffee, chocolate)
Other

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
Bread and Cereals Kosher bread should be from a certified kosher bakery
Soups and Sauces
Fats and Oils
Beverages
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
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. 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
Bread and Cereals No animal additives for vegetarian, vegan
Soups and Sauces No animal additives for vegetarian, vegan
Fats and Oils No animal fats/oils for vegetarians, vegans
Beverages Preference for organic/fair trade tea, coffee and chocolate.
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 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.