Vegemite caught in Limbo

I've been talking to people at Kraft USA about why Vegemite isn't currently coming into the US. I've managed to put together some facts and history on this...

• In the original pre-1999 formulation of Vegemite, folic acid levels were compliant with FDA regulations. Vegemite was still required to comply with US labeling regulations to be imported into the US.
• From 1999, the Australian formulation of Vegemite changed increasing the level of folic acid above FDA permitted levels
• When the formulation changed and it could no longer be imported directly from Australia, Kraft US did a dedicated run of Vegemite in small jars (4 or 6 oz) using the older, and FDA compliant folic acid formulation and added FDA compliant labeling.
• In Kraft parlance the “volume and velocity” of the Vegemite business in the US was not sufficient to sustain a dedicated product run of this type
• There is a “gray market” for Vegemite in the US and any Vegemite that doesn’t have a US style label is considered “grey market”
• There is no ban on bringing in Vegemite for personal consumption
• The amount of Vegemite that can be imported for “personal consumption” is not clearly defined
• Kraft USA has decision making power over what is imported by Kraft Canada
• There is currently no legal distributor in Canada for Vegemite
• Canada has introduced new labeling requirements that Vegemite sourced from Kraft Australia does not comply with
• Kraft Australia was recently asked if they would be willing to produce a run of Vegemite with labeling for the Canadian market - they declined

The questions that are still outstanding are:

• When did Kraft USA cease importing Vegemite into the USA?
• How much Vegemite can an individual bring into the USA for personal consumption?
• How much Vegemite can an individual bring into Canada for personal consumption?
• How does Kraft recommend its customers in the USA and Canada purchase Vegemite?
• Is it legal for US and Canadian residents to buy Vegemite over the internet from companies outside their respective countries?
• What are Kraft Australia, Kraft USA and Kraft Canada jointly doing to allow lifelong Vegemite customers to legally purchase Vegemite in the USA and Canada?
• Would Kraft Australia be willing to export Vegemite to a Canadian distributor if that distributor took responsibility for the additional labeling requirements?

With Kraft in different countries all apparently blaming each other for the situation, Australians living in the US and Canada are out of luck. I'll post answers to the questions above as I get them.

Vegemite Ban - confusion reigns

I'm not the only one who is sceptical and can't find a clear citation of a ban. Maggie Ruggierio of Gourmet is on the case:

I placed a call to the F.D.A., which gave me the scoop. According to my source, it's a rumor that they banned vegemite. The fact is, they know nothing about the ban. There are no import alerts that mention vegemite. Second, they say that it would only be a violation of F.D.A. standards if folate were added rather than occurring naturally in the food. My F.D.A. guy added that if folate had been added to vegemite, the F.D.A. would have known about it long ago, and vegemite would have been long gone.

According to my source and new best friend, it was Kraft/General Foods that discontinued the importation because it misread the Code of Federal Regulations 172.345 (the rule on folate/folic acid). I tried to read that baby, and I can see how a mistake could easily have been made.

I have a call in to Kraft/General Foods, and I'm not resting as long as breakfast still exists.

Whatever the cause, the effect is less Vegemite available in the US. Kraft/General Foods, you need to lift your game and communicate what happened, why, and when you will have it fixed.

Storm's coming...

This summarizes my feelings about the Bush Administration's latest legislative victory. From the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists:

(click here to view)

J.D. Crowe Mobile Register Oct 22, 2006 EditorialCartoonists.com

Fearing them, we will become them...

I'm continually amazed at the new depths to which politicians will stoop to win elections.



Can the GOP's best argument for why they should be in power really be this cynical and manipulative? Amorphous fear as campaign strategy.

Announcing the Vegemite Tracker

In the interests of helping Australians and Vegemite lovers in the USA to find the allegedly dwindling stocks of Vegemite, I've created the Vegemite Tracker to include your sightings and show where it can still be purchased. Just add your Vegemite sightings with the information below to the comments thread on this post, or send them in an e-mail directly to me.

• Store name
• Store address
• Date of sighting
• Container size/s
• Quantity
• Price
• Any other notes

For extra credit, use Local Live to find the store on the map and send me the link right to the location as well!

Who poisoned Phar Lap?

At last proof that Big Red was poisoned. From news.com.au :

The Daily Telegraph revealed exclusively that secret scientific tests using breakthrough technology have uncovered evidence the legendary racehorse was poisoned with arsenic just hours before his 1932 death in the US.

The startling revelation adds credence to the theory Phar Lap was killed on the orders of US gangsters, who feared the Melbourne Cup-winning champion would inflict big losses on their illegal bookmakers.

Scientists used a US synchrotron, or particle accelerator, to unlock the 74-year-old riddle of Phar Lap's mysterious death.

The proof lies in Phar Lap's hair.

A scientific report shows a large dose of arsenic was ingested by Big Red about 35 hours before his agonising death in California on April 5, 1932.

"The arsenic in the hair structure is consistent with a single large dose of arsenic," the report says.

The exact cause of his death was never proved, with suggestions ranging from the foul play theory to acute bacterial gastroenteritis.

But evidence of an arsenic overdose has been uncovered by scientists bombarding a strand of Phar Lap's hair with a beam of intense light. "We've made observations which could be explained by poison," Australian Synchrotron Research Program scientist Dr Ivan Kempson said "We can't explain it by any other way."

The chances of ever finding out who did it are slim, but I wonder if this revelation will kick off a new round of investigation, or even a confession...

Vegemite Banned in the US?

I find this hard to believe and even harder to fathom. From news.com.au:

THE US has banned Vegemite, even to the point of searching Australians for jars of the spread when they enter the country.

The bizarre crackdown was prompted because Vegemite has been deemed illegal under US food laws. The great Aussie icon - faithfully carried around the world by travellers from downunder - contains folate, which under a technicality, America allows to be added only to breads and cereals.

Australian expatriates in the US said enforcement of the ban had been gradually stepped up and was now ruining lifelong traditions of Vegemite on toast for breakfast. Kraft spokeswoman Joanna Scott said: "The (US) Food and Drug Administration doesn't allow the import of Vegemite simply because the recipe does have the addition of folic acid.'' The US was "a minor market'' for Vegemite, she said.

It's been getting harder and harder to find Vegemite here in Seattle, to the point that I asked a friend travelling to Australia to bring some back for me. I had no idea it had been banned by the FDA. I haven't been able to find anything official on the FDA website referring to a ban, just a few entries called "Refusal Actions".

Regardless of the cause, the effect is real - it is hard to find Vegemite on the shelves.

I think Vegemite lovers and Australian expatriates in the USA need a way to track the locations where Vegemite is still available. I'll get right on that...

Update: Even the Wikipedia community is having the same problem that I am finding a satisfactory citation referring to the ban on Vegemite.

Indispensable

For the record, the indispensable list of cookbooks in our house is:

the cook’s companion – Stephanie Alexander (Australia)
bills open kitchen – Bill Granger (Australia)
Stir – Christine Manfield (Australia)
The Joy of Cooking – Erma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker (US)
Mastering the Art of French Cooking I – Child, Bertholle, and Beck (US via France)
Mastering the Art of French Cooking II – Child, Bertholle, and Beck (US via France)

A word in praise of The Cooks Companion that I mentioned above. The recipes are excellent, but the most valuable thing about it is how it is organized - by ingredient – and the list of other ingredients that compliment them. We just made and canned pickled vegetables (aka “Bread and Butter Pickles”) from our p-patch using one of Stephanie’s recipes and its great.

If you’ve ever stood in front of the fridge or the pantry eyeing something and thinking “What on earth goes with X?” this is the reference book for you. It’s a great springboard for experimenting with different ingredients and flavors.

Make cake, not mess

Last night our neighborhood was egged. We'll get out there and wash it off the house after breakfast.

This will not save the the juvenile gits who did it from their just desserts. People who waste eggs are punished depending on the severity of their crime.

Wasting a few eggs can earn you bad digestion every time you eat them for a year. Wasting a large number of eggs will get you anything from 7 years bad food to an in-person visitation from Julia Child in her guise as The Avenging Spirit of Mistreated Eggs.

Don't. Do it. Again.

Hiatus

It's been a couple of months since you heard from me. Since then I have:

• been bewildered by the Washington State Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act
• taken a 10 day driving vacation through California with He Who Must Be Obeyed
• wondered why I care so much about my work when it seems to care so little about me
• felt crappy, seen the doctor, had blood tests, an ultrasound, and an MRI
• avoided alcohol, medications, non-organic food, and lost 10 pounds
• finished the project we started last year to rebuild our front stairs
• demolished another room in our house, wired, cabled, insulated, dry-walled, taped, mudded and sanded
• invested time in the GLBT resource group at my work
• spent some more time pondering my own mortality
• wondered how politicians and talking heads can lie repeatedly and have no consequences
• marvelled at the American public's ennui in the face of their eviscerated Constitution and evaporating civil rights
• asked myself if I really am going to become a U.S. Citizen
• made and canned more chili jam, and a new hot mango chutney

Lot's of water under the bridge in a short time. And a hell of a current. I've missed writing here, but now I'm back and I'm as bitter as ever.

Only more so.