Australia ponders restricting Vegemite sales amid ‘moonshine’ reports

It’s as Australian as barbies, kangaroos and koalas. But authorities are considering limiting sales of the popular Vegemite spread in some areas following reports it is being used to brew homemade alcohol. The country’s indigenous affairs minister Nigel Scullion called the yeast-based food paste “a precursor to misery” in certain rural communities. He proposed a restriction on Vegemite sales in some Aboriginal-dominated areas of Queensland and the Northern Territory, where alcohol is already outlawed.

Wouldn’t it be terrible to ban Vegemite? Well, it’s a precursor to misery in [some] communities.

Nigel Scullion

The minister added that young people were consuming moonshine brewed from the spread and that it had contributed to incidents of domestic violence. He told the Courier Mail: “We are in discussions with many communities, particularly in terms of community-owned stores, not only about healthy products, but about products that are used as precursors to the production of alcohol." Vegemite was first produced in 1922 by chemist Cyril P Callister as an alternative to Marmite, the supply of which was disrupted during World War I.

Businesses in these communities also have a responsibility to report any purchase that may raise their own suspicions.

Nigel Scullion

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