La tutela delle prescrizioni alimentari religiose nella normativa del Regno Unito

The contribution examines the rules concerning food and dietary religious practices issued by the UK legislation in several areas such as ritual slaughtering, religious diet in hospitals, prisons, school refectories and so on. In each area, the protection of users and workers’ religious dietary requirements raise a number of problems related to different competing interests. The measures adopted by the UK law strive to balance these heterogeneous interests and aim at valuing both the religious identity and the dignity of the faithful entitled to follow their religious dietary norms. The method adopted by the UK legislation is based on a constant dialogue between institutions, service providers and local religious leaders. This observation is confirmed both by the relevant normative sources (so-called Secondary Legislation, such as the Prison Service Orders and the Instructions) and by the codes of conduct often including information about the potential users’ religious habits. The cooperation between the political-administrative and the religious dimensions, in the absence of specific agreements between the State and the Churches, works through informal practices capable of influencing the resulting legislation. Therefore, in this context, collaboration with the representatives of religions is an essential element not only for the understanding of religious dietary laws but also for establishing and strengthening trust amongst the “faithful users” and the institutions and service agencies ensuring food supply and refectories management.