Food Labeling Requirements to Meet Religious Dietary Compliance

Jain. Jains or the followers of the ancient Indian religion, Jainism, presumably observe the most stringent diet. The core philosophy of Jainism is to respect all living things—including microorganisms and practice non-violence or “ahimsa.” This limits their dietary options to a strict vegan diet that excludes dairy, meat, seafood, poultry, and vegetables such as onions, potatoes, and garlic as they grow beneath the ground. Followers of this faith also find themselves cooking each meal fresh, as they refrain from consuming food that is a day old or older and may be harboring other living beings such as microbes. Staunch followers don’t eat before sunrise and after sunset to ensure what they eat is “visible” to them. This practice dates to pre-artificial light days when it was difficult to navigate in the dark.

A common predicament most Jains face is the permissible levels of insect fragments or rodent hair, described as insect filth and rodent filth respectively, highlighted by the U.S. FDA and other international food safety agencies. Per FDA an action level is required only if an average of 30 or more insect fragments per 10 grams of food product is detected. In an ideal environment, there ought to be zero presence of any extraneous substances in food products. However, keeping realistic scenarios and risk levels in mind, foreign contaminants such as bug parts and microbes are bound to enter the food system. This explains why devout followers of Jainism find it hard to choose reliable and trustworthy dining options or purchase food and beverage products.

Although there isn’t a formal inspection or certification agency in place to validate food brands that offer Jain-friendly dietary options, a few sectors of the hospitality industry such as the aviation sectors have taken proactive steps to include these options as a part of their in-flight offerings.

Hindu. Hinduism is a religion based on co-existence and interdependence of sentient beings. The Hindu diet also is predominantly vegetarian-based to reflect the community’s belief in non-violence. Higher Hindu castes such as Brahmins follow a strict vegetarian diet with rigor and discipline. Traditional Orthodox Brahmins may choose to clean the entire household and engage in a cleaning ritual should they learn that one of their guests had consumed meat or poultry products prior to entering the household. Clarified butter, or ghee, is of importance to the Hindus as it is rich, flavorful, and is often associated with a sign of prosperity.

Depending on the level of adherence, beef is forbidden for the most part as cows hold a sacred status and are revered as well. Pork and pork byproducts may be prohibited, depending on the caste or sect. This is why Hindus around the world are pressing for more transparency when it comes to food ingredients and nutrition labeling. Bovine and/or porcine gelatinous additives cannot be a part of a typical Hindu diet.

Religious Food Labeling Challenges

Food codes established by federal food safety agencies around the world primarily focus on public health and safety—the approach is unbiased and universal. While countries that are governed by religious laws, such as nations within the Middle East, find it easier to mandate food labeling requirements and parameters, other countries that are more secular cannot stipulate similar, if not the same, ingredient labeling criteria. Although voluntary efforts are being made by certain food brands to reduce this gap, a few challenges still exist.

Lack of cultural and religious understanding. The world is more interconnected now than before. Ethnic and cultural diversity is becoming more common and is influencing food culture globally. Efforts need to be made to understand the needs and wants of the current demographic. This can be augmented by investing in data analyses to understand the current population and economy better. The four major religion-based diets previously mentioned illustrate that we are simply scratching the surface when it comes to understanding cultural differences on a global level, and the various diets they follow.