A convicted murderer serving a life sentence in Australia is challenging a ban on prisoners consuming Vegemite – the polarising, salty spread that has become a national symbol.
State authorities say inmates may use the strong-smelling condiment to disguise contraband substances or brew alcohol behind bars.
But Andre McKechnie argues that the ban, in place in the state of Victoria since 2006, denies him the right to “enjoy his culture as an Australian”, according to court documents seen by AFP and AP.
McKechnie was handed a life sentence for stabbing a property developer to death in Queensland in the 1990s. He served part of his sentence in Queensland before being transferred to Victoria.
In his lawsuit against Victoria’s Department of Justice and Corrections, the agency managing the state’s prisons, the 54-year-old said he wanted the Vegemite ban overturned.
He also wants prison authorities to declare that they “failed to provide food adequate to maintain [his] wellbeing”.
The case is scheduled for trial next year, AP reported.
A much-loved breakfast spread for some, Vegemite has acquired controversial accolades since it first hit shop shelves in Australia in 1923.
The thick, brown condiment – made primarily from yeast extract – was invented in the Victorian capital of Melbourne more than a century ago as an alternative to the British spread Marmite.
In 2022, Melbourne declared the smell of Vegemite wafting from a factory in the city a “significant” aspect of the city’s cultural heritage.
However, the condiment’s polarising taste has landed it in the Disgusting Food Museum in Sweden – alongside natto, stinky tofu and monkey brains.
Vegemite sparked an international dispute in April this year when an Australian cafe owner in Canada was told to remove jars of the condiment from his shelves as it did not comply with local health regulations.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened in the row, saying it was “rather odd” that Canada allowed the sale of Vegemite’s “rubbish” rival product Marmite. The Canadian agency soon changed course and allowed the cafe owner to continue selling the spread.