This time America has gone too far...

[fearless]

US Vegemite crackdown fears roil antipodean expats
Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:00pm ET

By Michelle Nichols Reuters

NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Reports that U.S. customs agents are searching people from Australia and New Zealand for Vegemite, a popular yeast extract spread, has created consternation among antipodean expatriates living in America.

The Australian Embassy in Washington said on Monday it was looking into Australian media reports that customs officials were checking people for the salty brown spread.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has long prohibited imports of Vegemite because it contains folate, a B vitamin approved as an additive for just a few foods, including breakfast cereals.

But until recently there was no difficulty bringing in a few jars for personal use. Nearly 100,000 Australians and New Zealanders live in the United States.

Like a similar British favorite called Marmite, it is usually spread on toast with butter or cheese.

"Vegemite made me the man I am today," said Brad Blanks, a reporter with a New York breakfast radio show. "In Australia the slogan is that Vegemite puts a rose in every cheek; but today America has slapped the cheek of every Australian." 

Weekend reports from Australian and New Zealand media said some people had been searched or asked by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents if they were carrying Vegemite.

Agency officials were not immediately available for comment.

"From our perspective there is no food safety issue with Vegemite and we had been advised recently by US authorities that Vegemite was not of concern to them," an Australian embassy spokeswoman told Reuters.

Vegemite is made in Australia by U.S.-based Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT.N: Quote, Profile, Research)

 

This could lead to a declaration of war, if you're not careful

[Razorbill]

Tell me again why you eat this stuff?

[fearless]

Because:

We're happy little Vegemites
As bright as bright can be.
We all enjoy our Vegemite
For breakfast, lunch, and tea.

Our mother says we're growing
stronger every single week.
Because we love our Vegemite.
We all adore our Vegemite.
It puts a rose in every cheek!

All that vitamin B is the reason us Aussies are so laid back

[Cliff]

God Bless America, for keeping that shit off US soil.

[fearless]

Yeah, but an American company is glad to make it and reap the rewards of our bizarre tastes. 
Y'all should be forced to eat it - watch the crime rates fall as you all chilled a little

[Jody]

Land Down Under Lyrics
by Men At Work


Traveling in a fried-out combie
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast
And she said,

"Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six foot four and full of muscles
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich
And he said,

"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

Lying in a den in Bombay
With a slack jaw, and not much to say
I said to the man, "Are you trying to tempt me
Because I come from the land of plenty?"
And he said,

"Oh! Do you come from a land down under? (oh yeah yeah)
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

 
   

[aztecan]

I could swear I saw Vegemite being sold here at one time or another. 

Figures, we are nearly strip searched to board a plane, forced to endure hours in smoke-free environs called "sterile areas" and now they are searching people for illicit vegemite.

What's next, our beloved peanut butter?

HUGS,

Mark

[Queen Tokelove]

The only question I have is what the hell is it?  I do remember it mentioned in the Men At Work song and what is the problem with eating it? Personally, I might need some cause my doc says my thyroid was a lil swollen a few months ago and told me to eat a lil salt. Can someone smuggle me some..j/k

[Cliff]

It taste like (and looks like), liquid human feces that has been salted to death.  So if you got thyroid issues, have at it...but trust me, unless you grew up eating it, you probably won't like it.  I think it's like yeast (left over from beer productions) with a pound of salt added to it.

Hey Lil Steve, apparently that story was wrong.  The government said that there is no ban on the importation of Vegemite and the FDA is not pulling them off the shelves.

[fearless]

Not quite like liquid human faeces, Cliff. It's more like black, incredibly salty margarine.

Thankfully the reported 'ban' is off. I can travel safely again. 

"Australians living in the United States are spooked because of rumors of a ban on Vegemite. Recent media reports from Down Under have claimed that U.S. customs officials have started searching for the spread. The U.S. government denies that the Aussie delicacy will be banned. What's in Vegemite, anyway?

A lot of yeast. Vegemite is a brown, salty paste made of leftover brewers' yeast mixed with vegetables and spices. Australians and New Zealanders often spread it on toast with butter. The taste is strong and bitter, so the spread, which has a consistency similar to margarine, is used very lightly.

The rumors about a possible Vegemite ban stem from the spread's high concentration of folate, a water-soluble B vitamin. Folate is a vital nutrient that, among other things, helps form red blood cells and prevents neural tube defects in fetuses. Artificial folate, also known as folic acid, is highly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, though, and only approved for use in a few foods (such as breakfast cereals). But since Vegemite's folate is naturally occurring—brewers' yeast contains several B vitamins—it is not banned in America. "