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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: Rudd’s (Australia) happy little jar of vegemite baffles the world Vegemite has scored itself another bout of international infamy after foreign minister Kevin Rudd was forced to bring out the might of "ministerial intervention" to get his breakfast through US Customs on Sunday. The suspect little jar of brown stuff that saw Rudd questioned en route from Mexico to New York was actually his breakfast, a supply of emergency Vegemite he'd stashed in his carry-on bag. "Only problem travelling to NY is that they tried to confiscate our Vegemite at the airport. Needed Foreign Ministerial intervention," Rudd tweeted following the incident. Luckily, Mexico's Foreign Service came to the rescue, and the jar was eventually allowed to accompany him on the plane. But not before Rudd had a go at explaining it to the Americans. "Airport staff were surprised when I said it was good for you & I ate it for breakfast," he said via a follow-up tweet. Needless to say, the incident has attracted plenty of attention from US media. "They love it Down Under, but we prefer peanut butter," wrote Greg Wilson from NBN Washington. Over at the ABC, reporter Seniboye Tienbesco labelled the breakfast spread "an acquired taste" that was basically an "Australian version of peanut butter and jelly, with the taste of neither peanut butter nor jelly". Meanwhile, the BBC also sought to explain the substance to its UK-based readers: "Vegemite, a savoury paste made from yeast extract, is popular in Australia," read its report. "It is similar to Marmite, which is widely eaten in the UK." No, it's nothing like Marmite. From Wiki: Rumours of bans in the United States and Denmark In October 2006, Australian media reported that Vegemite had been banned in the United States, and that the United States Customs Service had gone so far as to search Australians entering the country for Vegemite because it contains folate, a B vitamin approved as an additive in the U.S. for just a few foods, including breakfast cereals.[31][32][33] The story appears to have originated as an anecdote by a traveller who claimed to have been searched by U.S. Customs and a spokesperson for Kraft made a misinformed comment to reporters. The story led to some anti-American comments in blogs and newspapers. The Herald Sun blamed George W. Bush, at the time the president of the United States, for the ban, and encouraged readers to post comments on its website and send emails to the White House.[citation needed] The US Food and Drug Administration later stated that there were no plans to subject Vegemite to an import ban, or withdraw it from supermarket shelves. The United States Customs and Border Protection tried to dispel the rumour, stating on its website that "there is no known prohibition on the importation of Vegemite" and "there is no official policy within CBP targeting Vegemite for interception".[34] The story of the "ban" later took on the status of urban legend.[35] While Vegemite has never been popular in the US, it can still be purchased at supermarkets that stock imported food items.[36] Following newspaper reports in May 2011 that Vegemite and Marmite had been banned and were being removed from shelves in Denmark, outraged fans set up several Facebook groups. In response, Denmark's Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries stated that neither spread had been banned but that the respective companies had not applied for licences to market their products in Denmark. In 2004 Denmark had passed legislation prohibiting the sale of food products fortified with vitamins as a danger to health.[37] Vegemite (play /Èv[d’hmajt/ vej-Y-myt)[1][2] is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries. It is similar to British, New Zealand, and South African Marmite, Australian Promite, and to Swiss Cenovis. Vegemite is made from used brewers' yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacturing, and various vegetable and spice additives. It is salty, slightly bitter, and umami or malty – similar to beef bouillon. The texture is smooth, and the product is a paste. It is not as intensely flavoured as British Marmite and it is less sweet than the New Zealand version of Marmite Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
I guess US regulations are now officially an undiscovered frontier in which only hardy pioneer/adventures dare venture.
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