Wellington (dpa) – A crisis has hit New Zealand breakfast tables: The Marmite is running out. And if you don't know what Marmite is, you're not a New Zealander. As the Sanitarium Health Food Co, which has made the sticky brown breakfast spread for three generations shamelessly boasts on its website, “If you're a Kiwi, then Marmite is in your blood. And if you consider yourself to be a Kiwi and you're not eating Sanitarium Marmite? Shame, shame on you.” The problem is, the Christchurch factory that makes 640,000 kilograms of the stuff annually was damaged by earthquakes last year that halted production in November, and Sanitarium said it would not resume its manufacturing lines until July at the earliest. The company's general manager, Pierre van Heerden, urged consumers this week to conserve their supplies of the spread made with yeast extract and not create a shortage by panic-buying after the company shipped out its final supplies. His plea, of course, sent shoppers out to clear supermarket shelves, and at last count, more than 400 lots were posted on the local TradeMe auction website, most at silly prices, while news reports quoted desperate mums appealing for supplies to keep their Marmite-dependent children happy. Was this all some kind of bizarre marketing ploy, given that there is no product to market? Definitely not, protested van Heerden: “This is a genuine issue that we are facing.” It is an issue of such importance that it went as high as Prime Minister John Key. He, however, committed sacrilege by admitting that he could substitute Vegemite, an Australian-made equivalent despised as an inferior product by most New Zealanders, who also detest Marmite made in Britain. Key said he could eat both but at least had the decency to confess, “I'm ashamed to say it. Marmite, was first made in England in 1902 but has been manufactured in New Zealand since 1919. “Marmite is undoubtedly part of Kiwi culture,” a food writer noted. “Generations have been raised to eat it on toast with cheese and crackers or between bread with a slice of lettuce or a handful of chips.” Reportedly first devised by a German chemist named Justus von Liebig, it is said to be one of the world's richest sources of B vitamins, containing five of them: thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate and B12. The spread does not start the day at all breakfast tables. Many New Zealanders can't stand the stuff, which has the consistency of axle grease, and they suspect it probably tastes about the same. They agree with a British website claiming to be for Marmite-haters: “Eat Marmite? You'd rather rip the wings off live chickens. You'd rather be stripped naked in public. You'd rather swallow rat's tails and snail shells.” Yes, that's about right. But then it turns out to be a sneaky cover. It's actually a site that promotes Marmite and wants to sell you T-shirts, mugs and the like. Me? I'll stick to marmalade, thanks. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/JUHp2 Tags: Kiwi, Marmite, New Zealand, Shortage Section: Features, Food, Latest News, Oceana
