Vegemite... banned?

THE US has banned Vegemite, even to the point of searching Australians for jars of the spread when they enter the country.


Kraft spokeswoman Joanna Scott said: "The (US) Food and Drug Administration doesn't allow the import of Vegemite simply because the recipe does have the addition of folic acid.''

Funny, I swear I've seen it at the Oakton Market.

I just did a search, and according to Wikipedia -- updated two days ago -- Vegemite is banned in the U.S. Perish the thought we should get enough folate in our diets. Might stop birth defects, as well as other problems.

I think we need to ban the FDA, and find some new group to watch over this stuff. Olestra is okay, but don't 'let people get extra B vitamins. Unbelievable.

Isn't folate added to bread products in the US? Weird reason to ban the stuff...

Mhays wrote:Isn't folate added to bread products in the US? Weird reason to ban the stuff...

For whatever reason you can only add folate to breads and cereals in the US, nothing else.

Apparently it's been a rule for a while, but they're just now stringently enforcing it.

gleam wrote:

Mhays wrote:Isn't folate added to bread products in the US? Weird reason to ban the stuff...

For whatever reason you can only add folate to breads and cereals in the US, nothing else.

I wonder what is the thinking behind banning folate in all food products outside of cereal or bread?

Help save Vegemite for us expat Aussies! Sign the petition:
http://www.savevegemite.com/

Short answer: It's not banned, don't worry. Another UL in the making.

Well, it's certainly a massive and widespread urban legend -- with newspapers all over Australia doing pieces on it, the Australian government trying to get to the bottom of it, people reporting being searched for it, and the FDA not answering their phones. It certainly has created an uproar -- and a lot of ill will.

These are stories in the major Australian newspapers:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Author ... 98167.html

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 61,00.html

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/stor ... 53,00.html

But glad to hear that it's a hoax.

I thought it was only banned in Chicago.



Anyway, it's good to see Wikipedia is on top of things...



Antonius

If anyone is going to figure out whether it's a hoax or not, it'd be the fine people over at Snopes.com. There's a short thread discussing it on their message boards. Although now it seems to be discussing jell-o salad.

So far it still looks real, including links to FDA documents that provide at least a bit of support.

The fact that the FDA has actually, in the past, arrested doctors for prescribing B Vitamins makes me believe that, whether this is true or not, it's not beyond the FDA in their ongoing war against vitamins.

Antonius wrote:Anyway, it's good to see Wikipedia is on top of things...

Wikipedia Celebrates 750 Years Of American Independence - Founding Fathers, Patriots, Mr. T. Honored

germuska wrote:

Antonius wrote:Anyway, it's good to see Wikipedia is on top of things...

Wikipedia Celebrates 750 Years Of American Independence - Founding Fathers, Patriots, Mr. T. Honored

While other news and information websites chose to mark the anniversary in a muted fashion, if at all, Wikipedia gave it prominent emphasis over other important historical events from the same day, including the independence of the nation of Africa in 1847, the 1984 ascension of Constantine to Emperor of the Holy Roman Emperor, and the 1998 birth of Smokey, a calico cat belonging to Mark and Becky Rousch of Erie, PA.

Founder Wales, a closeted homosexual and hot-dog freak, according to his user-edited bio on the site, also hosted a symposium of amateur historians at the New School in New York on Saturday.



G.,

Thanks for the link!

Antonius

The Slate Explainer says it's not true, since the folate in Vegemite occurs naturally and is not added.

The ingredients list lists folic acid as the last ingredient, and Kraft said in interviews that they add folate to it.

Back when everybody started talking about how great folate is, it appears Kraft boosted the amount in the product.

Snopes is reporting that Vegemite is A-OK, and that the FDA is rather perplexed by the news that they're cracking down. There seems to be much confusion. Kraft says the FDA has told them it's no good since there's added folate. The FDA says they've told Kraft no such thing.

So it appears more time will be needed to sort this one out.

Yup .. snopes reports this as false (thankfully!):

http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/vegemite.asp

Cameron.

According to the Gourmet Magazine Food Editors' Blog:

Maggie Ruggiero wrote:Today, I spoke with a representative of Kraft Foods. The news is not great.

Since 1999, Vegemite has been fortified with folate. Hence, its importation is in violation of that now-famous CRF 172.345. However, Kraft itself ceased the importation. The good news is that there is no issue with personal importation, and Australians can bring it in freely for personal consumption. I imagine that's what Nicole Kidman will have to do now that she's taken up residence in Nashville.

a closeted homosexual and hot-dog freak

Isn't that redundant?

Here's an online source:

http://www.britishdelights.com/marmite.htm