Australian owner of Toronto café chain fighting Ottawa to save $8K of Vegemite

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 14, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

It's hard to get immoderate further from Australia than downtown Toronto, truthful for a dual-citizen similar Leighton Walters, the quickest mode to beryllium transported location is to instrumentality a wound of Vegemite connected toast.

The yeasty spread, made from the byproduct of brew production, is hard to find successful Canada, but backmost successful Walters' location country, it's portion of the nationalist fabric. For 5 years, helium says he's been importing jars of the worldly to connection astatine Found Coffee, his concatenation of Australian-inspired cafés successful Toronto.

Until recently, Found Coffee sold jars of Vegemite straight to customers, who could besides bid Vegemite connected toast oregon pastries with the dispersed baked in.

"I grew up arsenic a Vegemite kid ... eating it for meal each 2nd day," Walters told CBC Toronto. "It's an iconic Australian merchandise ... we've been truthful arrogant to service it to thousands and tens of thousands of Australians, Canadians, travelers and tourists."

But earlier this year, Canadian regulators flagged his latest shipment of Vegemite, which is lone produced successful Australia. After inspection, they told Walters helium would person to propulsion the item. The crushed down the determination has near Walters — and the section expat assemblage that buys his imports —  frustrated and confused.

"Pulling Vegemite disconnected our shelves hits astatine the halfway and the bosom of our brand," helium said.

"It would beryllium akin to a Canadian entrepreneur moving to Australia, starting an astonishing poutine store and past bringing successful this beautiful, benignant of precocious quality, unsocial maple syrup from Canada, and past the Australian authorities turning astir and saying, 'No you can't service that maple syrup due to the fact that the trees weren't successful a controlled situation erstwhile they were tapped' oregon 'They're excessively sweet.'"

It's besides enactment astir $8,000 worthy of Vegemite, which Walters has already paid for, successful jeopardy.

Food authorization says import not up to Canadian standards

Emails provided to CBC Toronto by Walters amusement that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) told him successful January that the batch of Vegemite was non-compliant with Health Canada regulations.

"The Vegemite merchandise being sold was recovered to person added vitamins which are not permitted successful this merchandise arsenic per the Food and Drug Regulations and is truthful not permitted to beryllium sold successful Canada," a CFIA spokesperson told CBC Toronto successful an email. 

"As a result, the café was informed of the non-compliance and voluntarily removed the merchandise from its paper and retail offerings."

Some products, similar cereals, achromatic flour and definite juices and milks, whitethorn beryllium sold with added vitamins nether Canada's Food and Drug Regulations, but spreads and condiments aren't included successful the list.

All Vegemite products are fortified with Vitamin B, according to the product's website, suggesting nary Vegemite products should beryllium permitted to beryllium sold successful Canada.

That's not the lawsuit though. It's inactive disposable to acquisition astatine specialty retailers astir the state and is sold online by Amazon Canada. CFIA confirmed successful its email that Vegemite is not banned successful Canada.

CBC Toronto followed up with CFIA for clarification connected wherefore Vegemite is mostly permitted for merchantability contempt appearing to contradict regulations, but did not perceive backmost earlier publication. 

Walters notes that Marmite, a akin dispersed made successful the U.K. that besides has added vitamins, was explicitly deemed a ineligible merchandise for import by CFIA successful 2020, aft a shipment was mistakenly rejected that year. 

But a spokesperson for Health Canada said successful an email that the summation of vitamins is constricted to definite foods "to assistance guarantee that Canadians get capable but not excessive amounts of definite nutrients successful their diet."

"Some nutrient manufacturers take to nutrient products for import that conscionable Canadian regulations truthful that they whitethorn beryllium legally sold successful Canada," said spokesperson Charlaine Sleiman. She said Vegemite sold successful Canada indispensable beryllium altered to conscionable regulations.

Walters says the regulations are idiosyncratic to him for different reason. He suffers from spina bifida, and probe suggests that folate, a benignant of Vitamin B that is added to Vegemite, taken during gestation reduces the hazard of a kid being calved with the condition. Indeed, helium spoke with CBC Toronto from his infirmary room, wherever he's recovering from surgery — his 65th infirmary admission.

"To immoderate Vegemite is Vegemite, but to maine it's much astir trying to marque definite that nary connected other has to spell done what I've been done with my life," helium said.

Australian expats question CFIA, accidental Vegemite is simply a staple food

Walters says helium decided to instrumentality Vegemite disconnected his shelves to debar immoderate penalties portion helium fights the decision. He's besides reached retired to the Australian Trade and Investment Commission for help.

In the meantime, galore Australian expats among Walters' clientele person rallied astir Found Coffee to question the CFIA.

Ray Wood, who was calved successful Melbourne but has lived successful Ontario since 2008, says Walters' communicative has been making the rounds connected section Australian expat Facebook groups, garnering outrage and enactment from chap transplants. 

He said helium was baffled to larn Vegemite wasn't up to Canadian regulations and reached retired to Walters immediately.

"What the heck's going on? Vegemite's a nationalist Australian icon," Wood said. "How could it abruptly beryllium threatened similar this?" 

He said Australians successful the radical are trying to dispersed the word, and inquire wherefore Walters' concatenation is being targeted, successful hopes the determination volition beryllium overturned.

"Why would the Canadian nutrient authorities azygous retired 1 store erstwhile the merchandise is disposable everywhere, arsenic are precise akin products?" Wood said.

Keane Scheffel, who's besides primitively from Melbourne and frequents Found Coffee connected his greeting commute, says helium can't recognize what CFIA is trying to support Canadians from.

"I don't spot wherefore it should beryllium an issue," helium said. "There's nary request to halt it. It's thing that Australians person eaten for a long, agelong time."

He says helium has capable Vegemite to past a portion and isn't disquieted astir moving retired immoderate clip soon, but helium is disquieted astir the deed that this could instrumentality connected Walters' business.

"I conscionable anticipation that Leighton and the folks astatine Found tin get a resolution," helium said. "It's baffling."