From BBC

Marmite jar Marmite falls foul of Canada’s laws because it is enriched with vitamins

The owner of a British food shop in Canada says he has been ordered to stop selling Marmite, Ovaltine and Irn Bru because they contain illegal additives.

Tony Badger, who owns Brit Foods in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, told local media that food safety officials had removed the foods from his shelves.

Other affected products include Lucozade, Penguin Bars and Bovril.

Mr Badger said he had been selling the items since 1997, and had never had problems in the past.

“We’ve been bringing Irn-Bru in since the very beginning,” he told CKOM. The bright orange caffeinated drink is particularly popular in Scotland, but sold in countries around the world.

“My understanding was we were importing legally. We’ve been declaring it through a customs broker and we’ve never had an issue until now,” said Mr Badger.

Expensive delays

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is reportedly cracking down on the sale of such goods and increasing its inspections of suppliers.

Press Association Irn Bru is the most popular soft drink in Scotland

Irn Bru contains at least one additive – Ponceau 4R – which has been linked to hyperactivity and does not appear on the approved food list in Canada.

The other products are banned because they are “enriched with vitamins and mineral” while some canned foods and soup contained too much animal product.

The CFIA could not be reached for comment.

Mr Badger said he first ran into trouble in October when his Christmas stock was seized as it was imported from Britain. Then last week, officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency came to his shop to confiscate the remaining produce.

“The concern now is, with the next shipment, if it gets held there may be new issues with new products, so it somewhat paralyses our ability to bring new product in,” he said, adding the delays had already cost him thousands of dollars.

But he said the agency was now conducting a health assessment on the foods to determine whether they were fit for sale.

“I haven’t heard of anyone dying from consuming Irn-Bru in Scotland or Britain,” he said. “So hopefully we will get a favourable decision.”

One customer, Briton Nigel Westwick, told the Star Phoenix newspaper that he “couldn’t understand the insanity” of preventing Irn Bru from entering Canada.

“For a country that allows one to buy firearms, guns, bullets… stopping a soft drink suitable for all ages seems a little ludicrous.”

For more on this story go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25867613

Related story:

Marmite: Ten things you’ll love/hate to know

From BBC

Marmite has been in the news after it was reported that Denmark had banned it.

In fact it can be sold but only if a licence is granted by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. Here are 10 things you maybe did not know about the “love it or hate it” spread.

1. It was invented by accident. In the late 19th Century a German scientist, Justus Liebig, discovered brewer’s yeast could be concentrated, bottled and eaten. In 1902 the Marmite Food Company was founded in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, where the raw material was readily available from the town’s brewers. The original recipe contained salt, spices and celery. Later folic acid, vitamin B12, thiamin and riboflavin – vitamins which occur naturally in some foods – were added in high concentrations.

2. Marmite won two world wars. OK, that’s not strictly true. But it was included in soldiers’ rations in World War I and, along with bully beef, Spam and condensed milk, it was popular among civilians and the military between 1939 and 1945. In 1999 the company sent extra supplies to homesick British peacekeeping troops in Kosovo.

3. Marmite is French. Well, the name comes from the name of a French casserole dish called a marmite (pronounced Marmeet). In the Normandy port of Dieppe, a popular fish stew is known as a Marmite Dieppoise. Ever since the 1920s the red and yellow label on the jar has had a picture of a marmite on it.

4. Jail staff are not keen on it. There’s an urban myth that it is banned in British prisons because it can be used to make hooch. In 2002 it was reported that inmates at Featherstone jail, near Wolverhampton, were using it, along with fermented fruit and vegetables, to make moonshine. In 2009 it was reported that inmates at Dartmoor prison were cooking up a brew called a Marmite Mule. But a Prison Service spokesman said on Wednesday it was not banned as it could not be used to make any alcoholic drinks.

5. There’s more than one Marmite. In New Zealand and Australia the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing company sells Marmite but it has added caramel and sugar to its version, which obviously gives it a sweeter taste. Sanitarium bought the rights to use the brand name back in 1908.

6. Marmite does not just come in jars. Other products in the range which you might also hate are Marmite Mini Cheddar Bites, Marmite crisps, Marmite jumbo rice cakes and Marmite flavoured oven-baked cashew nuts.

7.Marmite used to be made in London. The product became so popular that the company’s factory in Burton-on-Trent could not keep up so they converted a former brewery in Vauxhall, south London to create a second plant. One resident of the area recalls on a local history blog: “When I was a kid we lived near the Marmite factory at Vauxhall. The smell from the factory was disgusting! People living close by applied to have their rates reduced because of the stench (they failed of course).” The factory closed in 1967.

Marmite jar sculpture in Burton-on-Trent Since last year the good folk of Burton-on-Trent have been living with this Marmite jar sculpture

8. A sculpture has been built in Marmite’s honour. Last year Unilever, the conglomerate which owns the brand, spent £15,000 on a sculpture of a Marmite jar. The sculpture, nicknamed Monumite, now takes pride of place next to the main library in Burton-on-Trent.

9. Marmite may keep away mosquitoes. Several newspapers, including the Guardian, the Sun and the Daily Telegraph, have claimed the yeasty spread to be the perfect defence against mozzies.

10. It’s good for you. Despite the Danish doubts about the effects on people’s health, Marmite could actually be good for you. Nutritionist Melanie Brown says: “Marmite plays such a useful part in many people’s diet, and it’s incredibly useful for older people who are short in vitamin B-12. It’s full of folic acid, and there’s lots of evidence that many women, young women of child-bearing age are deficient in folic acid.”

For more on this story go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13541148

And other related story:

Marmite: Denmark says spread could be illegal

From BBC

British savoury spread Marmite could be illegal in Denmark if it fails to meet safety requirements, officials say.

By law, the Danish authorities must give their approval for food fortified by vitamins or minerals before sale.

Products with such additives need to be assessed for any potential dangers, the Danish Food and Veterinary Administration says.

Denmark has previously banned several popular items, including the drink Ovaltine and some breakfast cereals.

A shop in Copenhagen was recently asked to remove its supplies of Marmite following a phone call from Danish authorities, the owner says.

A spokesman for the Danish Food and Veterinary Administration said: “We have no record of an application for the sale of the product, so we have neither forbidden or accepted it.”

Continue reading the main story

Marmite Ingredients

Yeast Extract

Salt

Vegetable Extract

Niacin (Vit B3)

Thiamine (Vit B1)

Spice Extracts

Riboflavin (Vit B2)

Folic Acid

Celery Extract

Vitamin B12

Source: Marmite website

The procedural checks needed before a final decision is reached could take up to six months.

If a ban is put in place, outraged fans of the spread in Denmark are threatening a campaign of civil disobedience, the BBC’s Europe correspondent Chris Morris says.

Nutritionist Melanie Brown told the BBC she believed a ban on Marmite, which is rich in B-vitamins such as riboflavin and niacin, would be counterproductive.

“Marmite plays such a useful part in many people’s diet, and in my practice it’s incredibly useful for older people…who are short in vitamin B12.

“It’s full of folic acid, and there’s lots of evidence that many women, young women of child-bearing age are deficient in folic acid,” she said.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13536479