But according to one Australian government official, Vegemite is being used for more than toast spread.
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A spokeswoman for Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion said the minister heard reports the popular spread was being used to concoct home brew in some dry Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Young children have reportedly been consuming home brew alcohol with orange juice and have been too hung over to attend school.
In communities where alcohol is banned because of addiction problems, Mr Scullion said Vegemite sales should also be restricted, the BBC’s Jon Donnison in Sydney reports.
“While we cannot just go out and ban everything that could possibly be used to make illegal alcohol, at the same time common sense needs to take place and if people are purchasing large quantities of an item that could be used for brewing illegal alcohol, questions should always be asked”, the union’s president Ian Leavers said.
Chronic alcoholism is a serious problem among Australia’s aboriginal community and laws in a number of indigenous areas restrict the sale and consumption of spirits.
The announcement drew criticism from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who assailed the notion of a “Vegemite watch” as excessive government intrusion into ordinary life.
He urged local businesses and communities to be vigilant and to report any suspicious Vegemite purchases which looked like they could be related to homemade alcohol brewing.
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Brewer’s yeast is a key ingredient of the dark brown paste, which was first developed as a substitute for Marmite when the supply of the British-made spread in Australia was virtually cut off during World War I.
