Marmite ban ‘shows what could happen’
Thursday 26th May 2011, 1:00PM BST.
Tim Adams, Judy Hayman, Karl Le Tocq, Fiona Le Tissier, Maureen de Jong, Joy Gardner, Julie Madeley, Liz Adams and Rob Thoume make their point to States members about to debate adopting the EU directive on supplements. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 1140310)
A MARMITE ban in Denmark has shown what could happen in Guernsey if deputies sign up to EU food supplement legislation, a campaigner has said.
Liz Adams yesterday dressed herself as a jar of Marmite and staged a protest outside the States with fellow campaigners to stop deputies accepting proposals to tie the island into European Union food supplement standards.
Earlier this week, news broke that Denmark had stripped stocks of the yeast extract from its shelves, enforcing a law made in 2004 that restricts products fortified with added vitamins.
Mrs Adams said that in some ways she was pleased Denmark had made the ban as it brought to light what could one day happen to Guernsey.
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I’m not sure Mrs Adams has fully understood any of the news story related to the Marmite issue in Denmark. This ban on products with added vitamins is not at EU regulation or directive, but a piece of national legislation from Denmark. This is NOT a harmonising piece of legislation from Brussels or a judgement emanating from Luxembourg.
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No doubt it won’t be long before we see cohorts of blue-jacketed Eurotroopers marching down the High Street checking the size of our chipped potatoes and carting away honest greengrocers that still have the temerity to serve things in pounds and ounces.
“Why didn’t we listen!” we will not doubt lament in the future.
“Why didn’t we listen to the people protesting about the European food supplement legislation! You know, the ones dressed like a pot of Marmite!”
Unbelievable.
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Far be it for the facts to get in the way of a good story, but as I understand it
- Marmite hasn’t actually been banned in Denmark
- The restriction is that, under DANISH ( not EU ) law fortified foodstuffs need to be approved before sale, but can be sold
- This Danish law may itself contrevene EU law, not be a result of it
but then those facts don’t fit the agenda do they ?
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I must congratulate SarnianSam on his post.
It must be very difficult to at least come up with a readable post when the writer has clearly bashed the keyboard against his head a few times in the hope of making a coherent and logical argument.
Like I said, at least it’s readable.
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I’d just like to thank Robin for his post.
This is obviously an issue of such manifest importance that I shouldn’t have tried to couch the point I was trying to make in such a frivolous manner. Rest assured I shall be entirely literal so as to be better understood next time.
Thanks for the mention.
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Regardless of whether this is factual or otherwise and knowing only too well how the average Guern reacts to scaremongering, I can see shoppers knee deep in the aisles and buying up this well known spread. Marmite is graced with the description of either being well loved or much hated. In the latter case, this will not prevent shoppers from stocking up, ‘just to be on the safe side, eh’.
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I think you will find Mrs. Adams has understood the Danish Marmite story. Denmark has not banned Marmite but it has put in place regulations so that you cannot sell it unless it has been licensed because of the vitamin content so it has been removed from display in shops. It is just a question of “wording” – banned or needing regulating. Anyway – whatever it is pathetic and it will happen in Guernsey unless we fight on
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I know that this isn’t entirely fitting with the context of the above but please bear with me as I need to voice my point on the upcoming legislation on food supplements etc.
Do any of you know the effects of placebo? have any of you seen it in detail? the way that thoughts can manifest into physical happenings leaves a large void in the summary of mans understanding of the power of the mind vs the power of the apparent physical world we all live within.
Mind over matter!
Unfortunately we live in a time where the likes of Edward Bernays and his predecessors have programmed the masses to find contentment with nothing but physical belongings and dopamine release caused by eating fast food and drinking nearly poisonous beverages.
It is all about money i’m afraid! and the big pharmaceutical companies are in charge of the movement to strip man of his medicines. They know they can’t just make herbal remedies illegal and so they are making it illegal to advertise them in the correct light to potential consumers, We will be ok!
Our children however, that’s a different story! They will be born in to a world where the knowledge isn’t available to them on the benefits of herbs, plants and the like.
They will choose dangerous synthetic chemicals over natural herbal remedies because that is what their society will tell them to do.
We have a duty to the next generation to stop this movement from happening.
And if that fails then it is truly a matter of time until the uprising begins…
It is that or George Orwell’s vision will come to fruition.
I truly hope it is not the latter!
let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.
Strive to be happy!
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Living in Denmark the only way I have found out about this piece of “news” is by reading the horrified British papers. Most Danes would not know the existence of Marmite. It is only sold in a very limited number of shops and only to Brits. I don’t understand the uproar from e.g. Guernsey people about something similar to if the states banned remoulade or leverpostej… Yes, you have probably never heard of these and this is the situation about Marmite in Denmark.
And let’s be realistic, if a similar thing happened in Guernsey/UK the producers of Marmite would be quick to change the ingredients to ensure their staple wasn’t taken off the shelves. Unfortunately for me and many other British expats in Denmark, the same can’t be said here, as we’re such a small market.
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The chemical tablet producers must be as happy as can be,they have been trying for ages on ways to get rid of their opposition.Prehaps they should pay the states wages in future,not us.
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