Vegemite ban hoax?

First spotted over at Marginal Revolution: US bans importation of Vegemite because it contains added folate.

Rather strange. You can buy folate supplements over the counter everywhere, after all. Nor does anyone seem to have found any FDA statement about Vegemite, and the original story is sourced at urban legend level -- though some reports now quote a Kraft spokeswoman apparently confirming an FDA import ban. Yet websites catering to Aussie expats still list Vegemite for sale, with no mention of their doors being broken down by FDA stormtroopers.

Until we get the straight scoop on all this, one of the more amusing takes on the story as it currently stands is here. Excerpt:

And in bad news for British expats who enjoy smearing unpleasant poo-coloured yeast extract over their morning toast, Marmite also contains the offending folic acid – although it's not known if the levels of folate would be sufficient to fall foul of the War on Yeast.

Some sceptics, however, cast a measure of doubt on the Herald Sun story, noting that it seemed impossible to track down any FDA regulation specifically banning Vegemite, and suggesting that you'd think somebody would have noticed before now if an extremely popular ghastly food had been banned.

Either way, Australians planning on bringing jars of the terrible brown nonsense into the US would also do well to remember that they probably can't bring it on in hand luggage any way, as it will also be confiscated as part of the War on Liquids.

UPDATE: The story can now be found at Snopes.com under "Vegemite Ban". The canard is also discussed in the Wikipedia entry for Vegemite.

Posted by David on October 23, 2006 8:29 PM