It was only last week when reports have circulated that Vegemite is being used to brew alcohol, which caused a buzz on the food industry. Numerous news articles were released opposing to the idea. As per The Guardian, Nigel Scullion, the federal Indigenous affairs minister described the yeast spread as "precursor to misery" in the hands of home brewers which made the headlines.
BBC reported that Geoff Marsh, a Far North Crime Coordinator then stated that the police was aware that home brewers have been using Vegemite to produce alcohol and had been doing it for years.
"But there are a lot of products that contain yeast and it's all a bit of a beat up. We're not overly concerned about it at all in our position; obviously it's only an offence to produce alcohol in these alcohol free communities. But it's just one avenue towards [making alcohol], it's not illegal and we're not going to be telling shops to not sell Vegemite or give us the tip on who buys 50 bottles of Vegemite."
Tension rose when Nigel Scullion, a Federal Affairs Minster made a statement that sales Vegemite should be limited in some remote communities to avoid further damage. Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister stepped in and diminished suggestions regarding the Vegemite bans, he however did not rebut any home brew allegations.
Mondelez International, the Vegemite manufacturer then dismissed the brew angle though Sandra Dal Maso, their spokesperson. It is when she made a statement saying: "The autolysis process and subsequent yeast processing in the manufacture of Vegemite kills the yeast, as sugar and active yeast are two elements required in the brewing process, Vegemite cannot be fermented into alcohol"
Numerous scientists then agreed to this statement saying that other ingredients needs to be present in making the brew. It is when they pointed out that alcohol can be made by any food source that consist sugar and the right type of yeast.
