A Hindu organization reportedly urged the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to print beef-free banknotes after it was revealed the production of $20 and $100 notes included using cow fat. Reports stated small amounts of tallow, taken from beef and mutton fat, are used in the production of polymer currency to give the notes anti-static properties.

Newly designed banknotes are being introduced in the country, with the newly-printed notes of $5, $10, and $50 already in circulation, according to the Daily Mail. Reports stated the RBA is planning to introduce new notes of $20 and $100 in 2019 and 2020 too.

The President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, this week reportedly asked the RBA to "show respect to the feelings of Hindus and come up with a banknote production process which did not use beef as an ingredient."

Hindus urge Reserve Bank of Australia to stop using beef to make banknotes https://t.co/oGWbQ5NKZB — Daily Mail Australia (@DailyMailAU) January 23, 2019

Hindus consider cows sacred and consumption of beef is highly conflicting to Hindu beliefs. Beef is also banned in Hindu religious centers. Zed reportedly urged RBA Governor Philip Lowe to take the issue seriously and requested the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison intervene because it is "highly insensitive on the part of RBA to continue with reportedly beef-laced banknotes."

"The RBA should have been wise and literate enough to look into the religious sensitivities of its consumers before investing so much money and effort into the production of polymer banknotes," Zed told Daily Mail Australia. Reports stated vegans have also objected to the use of tallow in manufacturing banknotes.

Pedestrians walk past the Reserve Bank of Australia headquarters on May 5, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. Forecasters are predicting the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates for the second time this year in its upcoming May meeting. (Getty Images)

The use of cow fat in the production of polymer currency was first disclosed by the Bank of England in November 2016, when the organization admitted on Twitter there was a "trace" amount of tallow in the polymer base.

This particular polymer base is manufactured by an Australian firm called CCL Secure, which exports the substance in the form of granules. The granules are then melted to be incorporated into currency sheets. The firm, at the time, issued a statement saying a supplier had included the substance in their product and that they would "not knowingly add any animal ingredients into our products."