More than 1000 Queensland prisoners are on special diets, ordering everything from meals without mushrooms or pineapples to high fibre and gluten-free dishes.
It costs more than $10.5 million a year to feed the state’s 6220 prisoners three wholesome meals a day, with food serves that would make a pensioner envious.
Special diets are dished out to 1018 Queensland inmates, 827 of them for medical reasons and 191 on the diets for cultural or religious reasons.
The special diets include vegetarian; no pork, ham or bacon; no seafood; no curry, Asian; diabetic; soft food; no mushroom; no pineapple; low fat; low salt; no salt; gluten-free; no lactose; high fibre and vitamised.
Eighty seven prisoners are on a halal diet, eating only meat which is slaughtered and blessed by a Muslim slaughterman.
For all prisoners the typical correctional centre breakfast menu includes cereal with milk, two slices of toast, a choice of spreads, yoghurt and a hot drink.
Weekly lunches can be roast chicken, roast beef, ham or silverside with salad, fruit, four slices of bread and a drink.
Dinner meals can range from spaghetti bolognaise, a grilled pork chop, grilled fish, sausages with onion gravy, a reduced-fat meat pie, diced chicken or roast beef with vegetables, bread and spreads.
Queensland Corrective Services says it prepares 12,400 prisoner meals a day, or 4,526,000 a year, at a cost of $2.33 a meal in large southern Queensland centres and $2.72 a meal in far northern jails.
“There’s a lot of people right around Queensland who would give anything for a proper, decent meal that the prisoners have access to in our prison system,” Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said.
He was commenting after announcing the State Government would appeal a $3000 compensation award to a Muslim prisoner who was fed vegetables for four months instead of halal meat.
Baby killer Raymond Akhtar Ali, who murdered and cut up his newborn child, also complained about being given non-halal pies, pasties, dim sims and a ham sandwich in prison.
The $3000 is to be paid into a trust fund, which Ali can access if there are no claims from victims, child support agencies or for fines he may owe.
Commissioner for Queensland Corrective Services Marlene Morison said QCS worked hard to ensure religion and culture were respected and appropriate medical diets provided.
Individual diet requests for cultural or religious needs were considered on a case-by-case basis.