[size=50:q2xhxhn6]Daily Telegraph

[size=150:q2xhxhn6]Demark bans Marmite under food safety regulations


Marmite - you either love it or hate it, the makers say

Denmark has banned the savoury spread Marmite, saying its added vitamins and minerals break food safety laws.

By law, Danish authorities must give their permission for products with such additives to be sold.

In recent years they have banned several well-known items - including the chocolate malt drink Ovaltine and some breakfast cereals.

Already a shop in Copenhagen has been ordered to remove jars of the British delicacy from its shelves.

BBC Europe correspondent Chris Morris says there are suggestions that the Danish ban could break European law.

Outraged expats in Denmark are threatening a campaign of civil disobedience, he says.

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

Marmite Ingredients:

Yeast Extract
Salt
Vegetable Extract
Niacin
Thiamin
Spice Extracts
Riboflavin
Folic Acid
Celery Extract
Vitamin B12
Source: Marmite website

"
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 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,"
she said.

Kelloggs withdrew some brands of breakfast cereal from the country after the legislation passed in 2004 but Marmite had previously escaped unnoticed, reports the UK's Guardian newspaper.

"
What am I supposed to put on my toast now?"
the newspaper reported British advertising executive Colin Smith, who has lived in the country for six years, as saying.

"
I still have a bit left in the cupboard, but it's not going to last long."


What a shame "
I still love Marmite on toast."

It always amazes me how foods that we have been using for years without any problems suddenly becomes a problem to Brussels and others. :Headbang:I love it :Hearts:and when I can get I will always use it until its no longer available and I don't see that happening for some time to come.

[size=55:9myd5kyx]ITV national news

Denmark denies ban

Denmark has denied banning Marmite as part of a clampdown on foods with added vitamins and minerals.

The British spread is fortified with B vitamins and folic acid which scientists say can help protect unborn babies.

But authorities say any foods with added vitamins or minerals cannot be sold in the country unless they have been approved by Danish food authorities.

[size=50:3blhpyl8]Daily Telegraph

[size=150:3blhpyl8]Marmite makers urged to fight Denmark ban
Marmite's makers have been urged to apply for a licence to sell the product in Denmark and end a temporary ban on the spread which has upset its fans living in the country.

The Danish government has upset its British residents by banning Marmite. Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne, who represents Burton upon Trent, in Staffordshire, where Marmite has been made since 1902, said: "
I was appalled to hear the initial reports of a Danish ban of this much loved British product.
"
I immediately took my Danish (MEP) colleagues to task, only to find that no licence had been granted in Denmark for the sale of Marmite in the first place."

She went on: "
It is vital that either the importer or the UK producer of Marmite applies for a licence as soon as possible to test whether Marmite would really be banned or not under Danish legislation."

The MEP said she had urged Marmite manufacturer Unilever to submit an application, adding: "
Marmite lovers should be able to enjoy their favourite spread wherever they are in the EU."
The application could still be rejected, however, if the Danish authorities deem the product contains more added vitamins than allowed by national food laws.

EU officials confirmed that there are no standardised Europe-wide regulations on such additives, but the European Commission raised the issue with the Danish authorities today, to be told that the temporary ban has been imposed because the importer has not applied for the necessary marketing licence for Marmite. A Commission spokesman explained: "
There are currently no harmonised EU rules governing the maximum amounts of vitamins and minerals that may be added to foods.
"
Consequently, member states can set, through national legislation, the maximum and minimum amounts of vitamins and minerals used in food supplements."

The spokesman added: "
Nevertheless, the maximum amounts shall take into account the safety levels established by scientific risk assessment, intakes of vitamins and minerals from other dietary sources and reference intakes of vitamins and minerals for the population."
Denmark is one of a handful of EU countries requiring a licence before a "
fortified food"
can be sold to the public. Marmite, made from yeast extract, is in that category as it is enriched with vitamins including B6 and B12.
Voluntary fortification of foods is allowed in the UK, on condition that the product meets general food safety standards and has all ingredients on the label.
Conditions for voluntary fortification are harmonised across the EU, to promote free trade and food safety – but no maximum levels have been set for added vitamins and minerals. The temporary ban has triggered calls by Marmite fans for a boycott of Danish goods.
It also prompted Reprieve, a charity defending the human rights of death row prisoners, to urge the Danish authorities to shift its focus from the savoury spread to the actions of a Danish pharmaceutical company which provides lethal injection drugs to America. Reprieve investigator Maya Foa said: "
It seems incredible that the Danish government is capable of banning a harmless spread, but not of taking real action to stop a Danish firm's drugs being used to deliberately kill people."

Denmark recently rejected an application to sell Vegemite, an Australian Marmite-style spread. But one EU official pointed out that Danish food risk assessments are carried out on a case-by-case basis and "
this does not necessarily imply that a similar ban will be introduced on Marmite"
.

Marmite is OK I can take it or leave it (which gives a lie to the claim that you either love it or hate it). As for Denmark, the Danes are a bit odd when it comes to matters like this. Danes are often quite obsessed with diet demanding organic stuff and rejecting unhealthy food. However, many Danes smoke - and they even grow and export their own tobacco, and their road safety often leaves much to be desired.

:Food:Yum yum Marmite not had that in years, but will get some tomorrow. Hope they get the licence soon as many people will miss out on this wonderful tasty product.

[size=50:1v5u4gzt]Daily Telegraph

[size=150:1v5u4gzt]Marmite: Ten things you'll love/hate to know

Marmite - you either love it or hate it, the makers say

Denmark: Marmite could be illegal
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.

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."


"
It's good for you. Despite the Danish doubts about the effects on people's health."
- Well, thank goodness for that I will sleep easier tonight now!!

They don't know what they are missing I love it