• kbal@fedia.io
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    4 months ago

    They wrote this whole article and never got around to telling us exactly what Canadian requirements it doesn’t meet. This is why people only read the headlines.

    • CyborganismOP
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      4 months ago

      What I read in the article is that they banned it because it had added vitamin B. They’re explaining, however, that Marmite wasn’t banned even though it also contains added vitamin B.

      • kbal@fedia.io
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        4 months ago

        Lots of things have B vitamins in them, so it seem unclear why that’s a problem.

        • CyborganismOP
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          4 months ago

          Added B vitamins though. But like you said, in the article they mention that Marmite also has B vitamins and it isn’t banned. So… Why Vegemite?

          • kbal@fedia.io
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            4 months ago

            I had imagined that it had to be a specific B vitamin that Health Canada was worried about for an actual reason, but no. Apparently you’re just not allowed to add vitamins or minerals to foods in Canada unless they’re on a very specific list of exceptions for particular foodstuffs. For instance if you sell dehydrated potatoes the only thing you’re allowed to add is vitamin C.

            So the question becomes WTF does Canada have against adding vitamins to things in general? How did that regulation come to be? Do other countries do it that way as well? Does Australia specify exactly which vitamins are allowed to be in vegemite when it’s sold there? Is there a reason why the Canadians wouldn’t simply add vegemite to the list when it’s pointed out that they haven’t got a category there that covers it? Eh well, whatever.

            • CyborganismOP
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              4 months ago

              Totally agree. Plus, with the ongoing reduflation on food products, combined with the food inflation caused by Canadian corporate greed, people are becoming increasingly underfed and missing important nutrients in their diet. I would argue, if anything, we need to add vitamins to our food. Unless, of course, we fix this god damn food industry greed problem that we have.

      • Samus Crankpork@beehaw.org
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        4 months ago

        Marmite’s always in the baking section around here, with other yeasts and stuff, so I’m not entirely sure what they’re selling it as to get it on the shelves at all.

    • Nik282000
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      4 months ago

      The Vegemite product being sold was found to have added vitamins which are not permitted in this product as per the Food and Drug Regulations and is therefore not permitted to be sold in Canada.

      Something about specific B vitamins? Donno, it is a trash article to not be specific.

  • enkers@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    Leighton Walters, an Australian-Canadian cafe owner, shared his “shock” on Instagram after receiving a letter from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordering him to destroy an $CA8000 ($9132) shipment of Vegemite, and to remove the spread from his menu because it has added B Vitamins.

    Absolutely baffling behaviour from the CFIA. What the heck are they thinking?

    • Em Adespoton
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      4 months ago

      They’re thinking that it was vitamin B fortified, which besides being illegal in Canada is also a health risk.

      Why not just import regular unfortified Vegemite?

      • Nik282000
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        4 months ago

        Except TFA also says that Marmite is vitamin B fortified and is not banned.

    • Pistcow@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      I mean, they could have just said “it taste like shit” instead. Such a odd taste but every culture has its thing.

        • Pistcow@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          Tim Tams are awesome. Never had the others. Had an Australian exchange student in high school and could never get used to vegimite. She hated peanut butter so I get it.

          Fucked up thing was our school on the first night to America takingn20nexchange students and their families out to dinner at the Outback Steakhouse…

          • Haess@lemmynsfw.com
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            4 months ago

            Indeed. I could smell it being used in the kitchen from an upstairs bedroom when I lived there.

          • Pistcow@lemm.ee
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            4 months ago

            I mean the people that I’ve seen spread it like peanut butter (hazelnut spread equivalent). It’s not vile like the taste of a durian but it’s something that invokes a medicine type taste that leaves you squinting one eye and bobbing your head.

        • CyborganismOP
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          4 months ago

          Marmite is essentially the same thing, but Vegemite is slightly better.

          While Marmite is extremely sticky, Vegemite is easier to spread. It’s extremely salty, and yeasty with a bitter aftertaste.

          I like it on plain toast with butter and an almond sized amount. It’s great as a sandwich with some sharp white cheddar, lettuce and tomato.

          I also add it in the beef for hamburger patties, or I add it to cover my pot roast along with some mustard, butter and herbs before putting that in a slow cooker.