# Vegemite Is Now BANNED In America! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2006, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429 "2006-10-22T07:59:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/101 "2006-10-28T17:29:26Z")
That’d be it. It _can’t_ rot. It’s too inhospitible to life, except perhaps for certain exceedingly rare extremophillic bacteria, which would never normally find their way into your cupboard. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/102 "2006-10-28T19:00:43Z")
[QUOTE=Loopydude] That’d be it. It _can’t_ rot. It’s too inhospitible to life, except perhaps for certain exceedingly rare extremophillic bacteria, which would never normally find their way into your cupboard. [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: Probably doesn’t like fish sauce, habaneros, durian fruit, or kim chee either. Or hot sauce on ice cream. 😃 _de gustibus non est disputandum_ and all that. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/103 "2006-10-28T19:06:43Z")
Just got back from the grocery store. Vegemite is $3.99 for 4 oz., and Marmite is $4.99 for 4.4 oz. I can do CARE packages to anyone who still fears a shortage, for a small consideration. 😃 I did pick up several cans of Heinz Spotted Dick and Treacle puddings on a lark. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/104 "2006-10-28T19:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] :rolleyes: Probably doesn’t like fish sauce, habaneros, durian fruit, or kim chee either. Or hot sauce on ice cream. 😃 _de gustibus non est disputandum_ and all that. [/QUOTE] I pretty sure all of those others can at least harbor a good festering rot! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/105 "2006-10-28T19:27:36Z")
Hot English mustard is another one. I love that nearly as much as Vegemite, so I’ve never let a jar get too old, but both can live in my cupboard for months throughout a hot summer, even if I forget to put the lid on properly. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/106 "2006-10-28T19:43:05Z")
And my response was actually somewhat serious. Is about [8% salt](http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/VegemiteHistory.htm) (about 5% being sodium chloride alone). Compare that to the ocean, which has a salinity of about 3.5%. There _are_ bacteria that can thrive in very briney lakes and so forth, but your average food-spoiler would find vegemite very inhosptable, and the high salt concentration gives these sorts of products a very long shelf-life. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/107 "2006-10-28T21:50:34Z")
Google ad: How to end vaginal odor End pet urine odor now. Complete septic systems. Was it the fish sauce reference? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/108 "2006-10-29T00:12:59Z")
[QUOTE=Annie] Google ad: How to end vaginal odor End pet urine odor now. Complete septic systems. Was it the fish sauce reference? 🙂 [/QUOTE] It had loads of stuff about James Bond earlier for some reason. Now it’s about fresh organic food. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/109 "2006-10-29T16:55:04Z")
[QUOTE=Loopydude] I pretty sure all of those others can at least harbor a good festering rot! [/QUOTE] Not the fish sauce. Producing it involves letting it sit out in the sun for long periods ferment. It’s pretty much as spoiled as it’s going to get. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/110 "2006-10-29T19:01:09Z")
Kinda like sour cream, huh? I buy it when I need it, but it does chafe a bit to pay someone else to leave it out on the countertop so the cream can go sour in their factory instead of my fridge. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/111 "2006-10-29T20:10:20Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Not the fish sauce. Producing it involves letting it sit out in the sun for long periods ferment. It’s pretty much as spoiled as it’s going to get. [/QUOTE] Golly. Sounds divine. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/112 "2006-10-29T21:47:28Z")
With a bit of shaved carrot, spooned over your spring roll and vermicelli with pork? Absolutely. 😃 Man, I haven’t tried Vegemite in a decade. My mother’s a Brit and likes the stuff - so’s my dad, but he’s apparently more sensible. Despite **Cervaise** ’s (to my recollection, fairly accurate) description on the previous page, I think I’ll have to try a bit the next time I’m over. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![looking\_busy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@looking\_busy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/looking_busy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/113 "2006-10-30T00:56:56Z")
mmmmmm…marmite, lettuce and cheese sandwiches…mmmm yummy mmmmm…marmite and salt n’ vinegar chips sandwiches…mmmmm I MISS HOME!!! ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/114 "2006-10-30T01:29:45Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] :rolleyes: Probably doesn’t like fish sauce, habaneros, durian fruit, or kim chee either. Or hot sauce on ice cream. 😃 _de gustibus non est disputandum_ and all that. [/QUOTE] Actually, I do like all those things, even Durian fruit. Not so much hot sauce on ice cream, but green tea ice cream and red bean ice cream is yum. Its Vegemite I can’t get my taste buds around. 😉 Cheers, G ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/115 "2006-10-30T01:39:33Z")
[QUOTE=Clothahump] Yes. I had the extreme pleasure of being in Australia in the mid-1980s, and my Aussie friends decided one night that I needed to taste Vegemite. So they made me a sandwich. Hilarity then ensued at my response. I think, when I spat it out, that I managed to hit the wall on the other side of the room. [/QUOTE] I had a similiar experiance when I was a Student Ambassador. My host mother decided to make me a real Aussie breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/116 "2006-10-31T02:22:38Z")
[From Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/vegemite.asp): > [@](#): > > The variance in reports seems to stem from a confusion over the difference between importation for commercial use and importation for personal use. While Kraft has apparently stopped providing Vegemite to U.S. retailers while the issue over folate is resolved, the FDA says that travellers are still free to bring Vegemite into the U.S. for personal use: > > > [@](#): > > > > Kraft will fight for the right to resume importing Vegemite to the US after the country reconsidered its restriction on the famous spread. > > > > The US Food and Drug Administration said that travellers carrying Vegemite would not be stopped, in response to revelations in the Herald Sun that Australians had been searched for the sandwich spread at the US-Canadian border. > > > > While travellers are in the clear to pack their traditional breakfast fare, Kraft has not yet been given a green light to export Vegemite to the US, Kraft spokeswoman Joanna Scott said. > > > > However, the American-owned company is in talks to end the deadlock, which has resulted in many stores in the US being unable to source supplies. So it sounds as if it can be brought in by individuals, but if you want to buy it here you’re limited to stocks on-hand. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/117 "2006-10-31T02:52:54Z")
Is this anything like Cuban cigars? Sure, you can have a jar or two, but a [Pelican 1650 case](http://www.casefoam.com/pelicancases/pelican-1650.jpg) stuffed with them might raise suspicions? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429/118 "2006-10-31T13:11:51Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] Is this anything like Cuban cigars? Sure, you can have a jar or two, but a [Pelican 1650 case](http://www.casefoam.com/pelicancases/pelican-1650.jpg) stuffed with them might raise suspicions? 😃 [/QUOTE] I just bought a [url=“[http://www.casefoam.com/pelicancases/pelican-1610.jpg](http://www.casefoam.com/pelicancases/pelican-1610.jpg)”]Pelican 1610 for the Aaton. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegemite-is-now-banned-in-america/377429.md?page=5)