Upset Hindus worldwide are seeking official apology from Mondelēz International, “one of Australia’s largest food manufacturers” with “125-year history in Australia”, for non-disclosure of beef in some of its products; and immediate recall of all such items., 

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that it was shocking for Hindus to learn that majority of its Pascall and The Natural Confectionery Co. products, which they had been eating for years, reportedly contained beef, while beef was not explicitly mentioned under the ingredients listed on the packages/boxes.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stated that the majority of its Pascall and The Natural Confectionery Co. products contained gelatine, but the source of gelatine was not mentioned under the “Ingredients” on packages/boxes. In a response to Zed, Raymond Jerard, Consumer Care Consultant of Mondelēz International, wrote: “majority of our Pascall and The Natural Confectionery Co. products do contain gelatine” and we “can confirm that the gelatine we use in our products is derived from beef”. 

Consumption of beef is highly conflicting to Hindu beliefs. Cow, the seat of many deities, is sacred and has long been venerated in Hinduism; Rajan Zed points out. 

It was a very serious issue for the devotees in Australia and would severely hurt their feelings if they would come to know that they were unknowingly eating beef-laced popular snacks, Zed noted. 

Is this how Mondelēz, which claims “We deeply know our consumers”, wanted to follow through its “ambition” of providing “consumers with the right snack, for the right moment, made in the right way”; Rajan Zed wondered. 

Zed further said that it was hard to comprehend that why Mondelēz; whose claimed purpose is to “empower people to snack right” with “high-quality snacks that nourish life’s moments, that consumers can feel good about”; did not mention explicitly under the ingredients on the package/box the source of gelatine used in its products. 

Now was the time for Mondelēz, whose tagline is “snacking made right” and whose “Mindful Snacking” strategy included "Providing clear labeling" and "Marketing responsibly in line with ethical standards"; to admit their error of not being transparent enough to mention in clear and simple terms what was inside the package/box so that an ordinary consumer could make right and appropriate choices, Rajan Zed indicated. Moreover, in future, Mondelēz should explicitly list beef in the ingredients on the pack/box when beef was present in the product, Zed added.  

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. No faith, larger or smaller, should be mishandled; Zed remarked. 

Besides apologizing, Zed urged Mondelēz Australia President Toby Smith and Mondelēz International CEO Dirk Van De Put to recall all food items containing gelatine where source of gelatine was not clearly mentioned; and later replace these with items which markedly declared source of gelatin under the ingredients label. 

Gelatine/gelatin is procured from various animal body parts and is usually used as a gelling agent in food (also used for clarification of vinegar, juices and wine). It can be from cows, pigs, fish, chicken, etc.; but there are animal-free and plant-based alternatives to gelatine, like seaweed extracts. 

Mondelēz International, Inc.; one of the world’s largest snacking companies, claims to empower “people to snack right in over 150 countries around the world”. With 2024 net revenues of approximately $36.4 billion, it claims to “hold the #1 global position in biscuits (cookies and crackers) and #2 in chocolate”.

 Mondelēz Australia, headquartered in Melbourne, is the custodian of iconic brands including Cadbury Dairy Milk, The Natural Confectionery Company, Oreo, Pascall, Olina’s Bakehouse and Philadelphia Cream Cheese. It operates six manufacturing sites in Suttontown (South Australia); Ringwood, Scoresby, and Croydon (Victoria); and Claremont and Burnie (Tasmania).