TORONTO - Found Coffee, an award-winning Toronto cafe chain, may soon have to destroy $8,000 worth of Vegemite after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) deemed the iconic Australian spread as “non-compliant” with food regulations.
Leighton Walters, the owner of Found Coffee and a dual Australian-Canadian citizen, has pulled Vegemite from his menu and shelves as he continues to try to resolve the issue with the CFIA. The cafe used to sell Vegemite by the jar and offered Vegemite on buttered toast on its menu.
Walters said the move is a blow not only to his business, but to the greater Australian expat community in Toronto, for whom Vegemite is a “taste of home.”
“To put it in context, it would be like Australia banning maple syrup,” he said.
The CFIA’s decision has caused confusion over whether Vegemite will be pulled from store shelves across Canada.
In a statement to TorontoToday, the CFIA said “Vegemite is not banned.”
The reason why Vegemite was pulled from Found’s menu is because the yeast-based spread was “found to have added vitamins,” which goes against Canadian food regulations, the agency wrote.
Only certain products are permitted to be enriched with vitamins under Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations, including breakfast cereals, certain drinks and milks, salt, pasta and white flour. Spreads and condiments are not included on the list.
However, all Vegemite products have added vitamins, according to the producer’s website, suggesting that all Vegemite could be non-compliant under Canadian food regulations, not just Found’s supply.
Marmite, a similar yeast-based spread produced in the U.K., is also fortified with vitamins but does not appear to be subject to enforcement actions. In fact, the CFIA issued a public statement in 2020 confirming that Marmite meets Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations after a shipment of the product was rejected at the border over documentation issues.
TorontoToday asked the CFIA if it will be looking to enforce Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations on other businesses selling Vegemite, and whether Marmite could be next on the chopping block. The agency did not provide a response by publication time.
Another local business that sold Vegemite until recently, The Candy Bar Toronto, told TorontoToday that it recently sold out of its last shipment and will not be looking to procure more amid the confusion.
Vitamins in Vegemite “very personal” for owner
The Vegemite fight began in late January when Walters received an email from a CFIA agent about a standard import inspection.
Upon request, Walters sent the CFIA photos of the imported Vegemite jars, which included the tagline “B Vitamins for Vitality” on the packaging, according to emails Walters provided to TorontoToday.
The agent then issued an inspection report noting that the inclusion of “B vitamins and Folic Acid” was the reason for non-compliance. Folic acid, or folate, is a synthetic form of vitamin B9.
For Walters, the news that added B vitamins were the reason the CFIA was restricting Vegemite cut particularly deep.
When the cafe owner spoke to TorontoToday about this issue, he did so from a hospital bed after undergoing surgery for spina bifida — his 65th hospital admission throughout his life, he said.
Spina bifida is a birth defect that affects the development of a fetus’ spine during pregnancy and can cause paralysis, scoliosis and neurological problems. Not having enough folic acid during pregnancy is “one of the most important factors that can increase your chances of having a child with spina bifida,” according to the U.K.’s National Health Service.
“Vegemite is so high in folate that when people consume it, that minimizes the chance for anyone to be born with my condition and to go through the pain that I’ve been through in my life,” Walters said. “So it’s very personal for me.”
Aussies worried they won’t get their Vegemite fix
In emails with the CFIA, Walters tried to explain the cultural importance of Vegemite, and pointed out that added B vitamins are present in a number of food products and are not a health risk. He also noted that the shipment of Vegemite in question was cleared at the border and he paid taxes on it.
Despite his efforts, Walters has been unsuccessful in getting the food agency to reverse course. He ended up pulling Vegemite from Found’s menu and store shelves in late March.
If he didn’t voluntarily pull the product, Walters said he could have been on the hook for a $250,000 fine and could have lost his import licence. He was also told over the phone that he will have to destroy the remaining jars of Vegemite on hand, which he estimated have a total value of about $8,000.
Walters has since heard from a number of cafe regulars who are disappointed they can no longer buy Vegemite from Found. A manager at Found Coffee’s location on College Street also told TorontoToday that some patrons came to the cafe solely for Vegemite, not coffee.
Walters imported Vegemite himself in order to keep costs low, after hearing Aussies in Toronto complain about the “outrageous” price of Vegemite on sites like Amazon, he said.
The cafe owner said he is perplexed by the CFIA’s actions because he had been importing Vegemite for five years with no issue. He said he doesn’t understand why the CFIA has changed its tune now.
Walters believes he was the first target of the Vegemite crackdown because he’s an importer of record. Other businesses that sell Vegemite, like some British grocery stores, typically get their Vegemite from U.K. distributors, he said.
Walters posted about his battle with the CFIA on Facebook and Instagram, and has received a flood of support from Aussie expats baffled by the food authority’s gripe with Vegemite.
“We had at least five or six Australians drop everything and come to the shop and try to convince us to sell it to them,” Walters said.
Roy Woods, an Aussie expat living in Port Credit, caught wind of the story and has been helping Walters spread the word about the CFIA’s actions.
“I felt like [Walters] didn't have anybody in his corner trying to help him out,” Woods told TorontoToday. "I’m Australian and I thought it was a really good cause.”
For Woods, Vegemite is a “cultural icon” and he was shocked to learn that the CFIA was trying to restrict it.
Walters said the crackdown sends a bad message to Australia, a Commonwealth partner with Canada, at a time of trade uncertainty.
The cafe owner has been in touch with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian embassy in Canada to seek guidance on the matter.
“This is not good for Australian-Canadian relations,” he said. “Now that we know that they’re serious about banning Vegemite, we’re going to have to escalate.”
TorontoToday reached out to Australian trade authorities for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
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