Anthony Albanese has claimed victory in Australia’s “Vegemite-gate” trade stoush with Canada, which has relented and allowed a Toronto-based cafe owner to sell the spread after initially ruling it did not comply with local food laws.
Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Saturday morning, holding up a jar of Vegemite, the prime minister declared he had achieved a “win for Australian industry” after his government’s discussions with the Canadian government.
On Friday the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement that it had ordered a health risk assessment from Health Canada on Vegemite, which was being sold in jars and on toast at Found Coffee – a chain of Australian-inspired cafes in Canada.
It said a previous inspection had found Vegemite did not comply with Canadian regulations around vitamin fortification as well as the requirements for information on consumer prepackaged food to be in both official languages.
However, the “science-based” assessment had “determined that the level of risk to human health from the added vitamins present in the product is low when consumed in suggested serving sizes”, the CFIA statement said.
“As such, the CFIA will work with the importer to allow the product to be sold in the short-term, including revised labelling, while we collaborate with Health Canada, the manufacturer, and the importer, to find a longer-term plan for Vegemite sales across Canada.”
Albanese said it was a “fantastic “outcome, and claimed that his government’s lobbying at the highest level had helped secure the reversal.
“I want to thank [the Canadian prime minister] Mark Carney and his office and his team for ensuring … Australian cafe owner, Leighton Walters, can once again have Vegemite back in his cafe, back on the agenda,” he said.
“This is a win for Australian industry, but it’s also a win for those people in Canada who get to enjoy this wonderful product that is so much a part of Australian culture and, indeed, Australian pride as well.”
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The prime minister had previously thrown his support behind dual citizen Walters on Tuesday, after reports emerged he was in a dispute with the CFIA.
Walters claimed he was at risk of losing about C$8,000 (about A$9,000) worth of Vegemite he had already paid for, according to the report, because CFIA told him the batch of Vegemite was non-compliant.
The CFIA said in Friday’s statement that it “remains committed to food safety while supporting fair and reasonable access to culturally significant products”.
