Editing Vegemite (section)

== Bans and rumours of bans ==
In October 2006, an Australian news company 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 naturally contains [[folate]], a B&nbsp;vitamin approved as an additive in the United States for just a few foods, including breakfast cereals.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Authorities-probe-Vegemite-ban-reports/2006/10/24/1161455698167.html|title=Authorities probe Vegemite ban reports|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=24 October 2006|access-date=26 June 2011|archive-date=8 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108064839/http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Authorities-probe-Vegemite-ban-reports/2006/10/24/1161455698167.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/us-denies-vegemite-clampdown/story-e6frf7l6-1111112414389|title=US denies Vegemite clampdown|author=AAP|work=[[Herald Sun]]|date=25 October 2006|access-date=26 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/155019/us-govt-denies-its-banned-vegemite|title=US govt denies it's banned Vegemite|author=AAP|work=news.ninemsn.com.au|date=25 October 2006|access-date=26 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224010918/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/155019/us-govt-denies-its-banned-vegemite|archive-date=24 February 2011}}</ref> The U.S. [[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 [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection|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".<ref name="cbp-rumor">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/highlights/cbp_responds/rumor.xml |title=Why is CBP Seizing Vegemite? |publisher=U.S. Customs and Border Protection (via www.cbp.gov) |date=31 October 2006 |access-date=31 October 2006 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The story of the "ban" later took on the status of [[Urban legends and myths|urban legend]].<ref name="snopes">{{cite news
 |url          = http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/Vegemite.asp
 |archive-url  = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081216221014/http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/vegemite.asp
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-date = 16 December 2008
|title        = Vegemite Ban
 |publisher    = Snopes (via snopes.com)
 |date         = 28 October 2006
|access-date   = 22 December 2006
|df           = dmy-all
}}</ref>  While Vegemite has never been popular in the US, it can still be purchased at supermarkets that stock imported food items.<ref name="aap-2">{{cite news
 | url = http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20641599-1702,00.html
 | title = US denies Vegemite ban
 | publisher = AAP (via News.com.au)
 | date = 25 October 2006
| access-date = 25 October 2006
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090301195633/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C20641599-1702%2C00.html
 | archive-date = 1 March 2009
| url-status = dead
 | df = dmy-all
 }}</ref>

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 [[Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (Denmark)|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.<ref>"Ban shows Danes not happy little Vegemites", ''[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]]'' p. 63, 27 May 2011</ref>

Vegemite is banned from [[Victoria (state)|Victorian]] prisons, with the bans beginning to come into effect from the 1990s, to prevent inmates from brewing alcohol using the paste's high yeast content<ref>{{cite news |author=Reid Sexton |date=14 October 2007 |title=Mite not right – in prison |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/mite-not-right--in-prison/2007/10/13/1191696241416.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817015521/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/mite-not-right--in-prison/2007/10/13/1191696241416.html |archive-date=17 August 2015 |access-date=9 August 2015 |work=The Age |location=Melbourne, VIC}}</ref>—even though Vegemite contains no live yeast.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 August 2016 |title=Turn vegemite into beer? Why prisons have banned it |url=https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/the-pretty-awful-reason-why-prisons-have-banned-vegemite-20160819-gqwvbs.html |access-date=21 October 2024 |website=Good Food |language=en}}</ref> Similar bans were proposed in 2015 for a number of dry communities in outback Australia,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-11/vegemite-ribena-being-used-to-brew-alcohol-in-dry-communities/5084488|title=Vegemite, Ribena being used to brew alcohol in dry communities in Queensland's Gulf region|work=ABC News|date=12 November 2013|access-date=9 August 2015|archive-date=13 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813004652/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-11/vegemite-ribena-being-used-to-brew-alcohol-in-dry-communities/5084488|url-status=live}}</ref> but they were not enacted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-09/vegemite-watch-unlikely-pm-says-after-home-brew-reports/6684188|title='Vegemite watch' rejected by PM after reports spread used to brew alcohol in dry communities|publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=9 August 2015|access-date=9 August 2015|archive-date=11 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230911220123/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-09/vegemite-watch-unlikely-pm-says-after-reports-of-home-brew/6684188|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2025, the owner of an Australian-themed cafe in [[Toronto]] was informed by the [[Canadian Food Inspection Agency]] (CFIA) that, due to its added Vitamin B content, Vegemite is not permitted to be sold in Canada.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-16/australian-cafe-owner-canada-ordered-remove-vegemite-off-shelves/105182744</ref> After an intervention from the Australian government, the CFIA clarified that the "level of risk to human health from the added vitamins present in the product is low" and permitted its sale again.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wind |first=Emily |date=2025-04-19 |title=Albanese claims victory in Vegemite fight as Canada concedes spread poses ‘low’ risk to humans |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/19/albanese-claims-victory-in-vegemite-fight-as-canada-concedes-spread-poses-low-risk-to-humans |access-date=2025-04-19 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>