Vegemite Is Now BANNED In America!

[lizardling]

Hee! My Aussie cousins tried me on some Vegemite when I was down there for a wedding as a tiny kid for the first time. Turns out they got to sit and watch as I slathered a perfect 2mm thick layer on my toast, ate it all, and ASKED FOR MORE. All to the accompainment of stunned goldfish faces round about.

What they didn’t know was that I used to sneak rock salt and eat it like its counterpart rock sugar.

While today I wouldn’t slather it on quite that thick due to heartburn, I still have pretty low blood pressure - go figure. (although that’ll probably change when I hit 40 and my warranty runs out)

My local doesn’t carry Vegemite, but I did manage to dig out a small jar of Marmite, which reposes in my pantry right this moment. I’d also add that Marmite is more runny than Vegemite – consistency of almond butter as opposed to room temperature margarine.

[jjimm]

@August West

My jar of Marmite is from NZ, a gift from my Kiwi cousin-in-law, and I absolutely love the stuff. But I don’t have a very “*”-mite educated palate and I’m not a big fan of Vegemite, so maybe my tastebuds are backwards.

Toast smeared with Marmite, with a thin slice of extra-sharp cheddar just slightly melted on top is the best breakfast in the world.

I guess Kiwi Marmite would be OK as a kind of “kiddy starter pack”, until you move on to the proper stuff.

(Anticipating with pleasure the wrath of NZ dopers. Though seriously, your stuff is gank.)

[Cervaise]

@pimaspinner

But…but…I’ve never tasted it!

Rim a well-ridden horse.

[elmwood]

This really has all the makings of an urban legend. None of the articles I’ve seen quote anyone at the FDA. The FDA OASIS system doesn’t show any ban of Vegemite this year.

http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/10/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/11/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/12/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/1/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/2/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/3/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/4/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/5/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/6/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/7/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/8/ora_oasis_c_au.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/9/ora_oasis_c_au.html

Be careful of the roo, though.

B & G Export Corporation Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia , AU LOS-DO BJH-0121786-6/3/1
17AGT19 KANGAROO LOIN FILLET
30-MAR-2006 SALMONELLA

[Cunctator]

@StinkyBurrito

I have my Vegemite in the fridge. Does it need refrigerated?

No. It keeps for ever in the cupboard.

@StinkyBurrito

Also, I don’t understand all this talk of having 5 gallon buckets of the stuff in your pantry. It has even been stated that you only use a little bit on your toast. Do Aussies eat toast pretty much every morning then? Because I might have toast once a month or so and it will take me a year to finish off a 4oz jar.

I have it on toast every morning for breakfast. I have done so for at least the last 40 years. I get through my jars of vegemite quite quickly.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

Thanks for that, elmwood.

I knew it had to be a mistake!

[Gleena]

@Qadgop the Mercotan

Thanks for that, elmwood.

I knew it had to be a mistake!

Fine fine fine!

Here I was prepared to sneak through customs for you.

Hrumph!

Cheers,
G

[photopat]

Man, I can’t even imagine that…stuff, without gagging. I had one taste, over three years ago and still…

ugh. There’s no need to ban it on my account. I’m perfectly happy to let the Aussies have it all.

[Gorsnak]

Story with a bit more information:
link

[Triskadecamus]

Are you telling me I have sixty cases of entirely legal Vegamite being smuggled into the country!

It’s a cruel world, I tell you. I can’t stand the stuff myself.

Tris

[kambuckta]

@Giles

When in Australia, I usually put it on brands of crackers than are not available in the US, such as Vita-Weat and Jatz. So you don’t need to eat it on toast. (It can also be eaten on untoasted bread).

Vegemite on VitaWeats is definitely the food of the Gods.

[elmwood]

From the Jatz page:

Jatz and Savoy, which look almost identical, have slightly different recipes. Savoy is sold in Victoria and Tasmania and Jatz is sold in every other Australian state. The reason for this is that Savoy, the first cracker launched in Australia in 1952, was made by Brockhoff, a Victorian-based biscuit company, which became part of Arnott’s in 1962. Arnott’s followed five years later when we launched Jatz in New South Wales. When the two companies merged, they agreed to maintain the two separate brands due to their loyal local following.

Sounds familiar.

[Johnny_L.A]

@Johnny L.A.

Isn’t there an American version of Vegemite/Marmite? A coworker mentioned it a few months ago and said he ate it as a child. ISTR that it started with a ‘V’. (And no, it’s not Vitameatavegemine.)

I asked my coworker about it, and he said the product he ate was Vegex. I can’t find a proper link to it, but I’ve found a number of recipes that call for it so it seems to still be made.

[Loopydude]

Why you shouldn’t be upset about a ban: Those Aussie bastards know it’s vomitous, and just like to watch us gag once they’ve duped us into eating it. They’re probably bitter about that damn jingle with the “happy little vegemites”, how their mums used to sing it to them to get them to choke it down, and like to take that frustration out on us, even at great distance.

[Rayne_Man]

@Vetch

I’m not 100% sure but I thought I read a mangetout post where he said that beef was being reintroduced into Bovril.

mangetout was correct with his news. I bought a jar of Bovril today made with beef.

[astro]

Updates

US denies Vegemite ban

FDA denies ban on Vegemite imports

A representative of Kraft Foods – which makes Vegemite – reportedly told the media that the FDA did not allow imports of the spread because of its folic acid content.

However, Herndon said, “Nobody at the FDA has told [Kraft] there is a ban.”

A spokesperson for the Australian embassy in Washington, D.C. said, “We are aware of reports that U.S. authorities have been seeking to stop people from bringing Vegemite into the country. From our perspective there is no food safety issue with Vegemite and we have been advised recently by U.S. authorities that Vegemite was not of concern to them.”

Vegemite is a salty, paste-like spread made from yeast extract, and is considered a national food in Australia. Roughly 100,000 Australian expatriates in the United States are still able to purchase their national food from American stores, though few Americans enjoy the product.

Many news outlets are now classifying the weekend reports of a Vegemite ban as a hoax or an urban legend that began with an overenthusiastic border official possibly confiscating a jar of the spread.

[zelie_zelerton]

I disagree with the concept that Marmite never goes off. I do remember once back in the days of yore that a half-used jar of Marmite lurked in my fridge* for a couple of years between tastings. When i eventually got round to having some I discovered a greyish mould on the top.

Once I’d scraped it off the stuff underneath was still delicious though.

• I’m not sure why it was in the fridge as I usually just leave it in the cupboard. I must have accidentally misplaced it.

[Rayne_Man]

That mould was probably the remains of butter and toast crumbs which have a habit of finding their way into jars of Marmite.

[zelie_zelerton]

@Rayne Man

That mould was probably the remains of butter and toast crumbs which have a habit of finding their way into jars of Marmite.

Oh good point, you could well be right on that one. At least my marmite was still fresh n tasty though.

[Cartooniverse]

What is it about Marmite that prevents it from spoiling for years?

The appallingly high sodium content?