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."

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

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

Hmmph.  I thought Danes lived on pickled herring and licorice...oh, and those miserable little butter cookies!
;)

That ingredients list sounds NASTY.  8-P

Yeast extract?  I don't wanna know where they got it.  :o

Yeast extract?  I don't wanna know where they got it.  :o


Actually, they got it from somewhere awesome. 

No, not that place.  I meant they get it from the brewery!  If you're a homebrewer and a marmite or vegemite fan, it might be worth a try, as there's no other use for the trub anyways.  Worst thing that could happen is you end up with a beer-flavored loaf of bread as a byproduct of your attempt to find a use for the byproducts of homebrewing. 

Actually, they got it from somewhere awesome. 

No, not that place.  I meant they get it from the brewery!  If you're a homebrewer and a marmite or vegemite fan, it might be worth a try, as there's no other use for the trub anyways.  Worst thing that could happen is you end up with a beer-flavored loaf of bread as a byproduct of your attempt to find a use for the byproducts of homebrewing. 


I hate drinking somebody else's lousy homebrew and having to be polite about 'cos they're always so proud they made beer.  It's like trying to tell somebody their baby is ugly!
:P

I've tried Vegemite.  It turned me off of trying Marmite.  Not to mention that every time I see Marmite typed out, I think of Marmot.