Photograph by Mary Hutchinson
Canadian authorities have ordered the owner of a British food shop to stop selling Irn Bru, Marmite, Bovril, Ovaltine, Lucozade, and Penguin chocolate bars.
Tony Badger, owner of Brit Foods in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, told local media that Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) officials had gone as far as removing the “banned” products from his shelves.
The foods are prohibited from sale in Canada because they contain banned additives, such as Ponceau 4R in Irn Bru, contain too much animal product, or claim to be “enriched with vitamins and minerals”.
Whilst Mr Badger had been importing the items since 1997, and declaring them on customs forms, the CFIA have begun cracking down on such imports in recent months. Mr Badger first ran into issues in October, when his christmas stock was seized.
Nigel Westwick, a native of Newcastle, England, and regular customer of Brit Foods, told the local Star Phoenix newspaper:
“I couldn’t understand the insanity of stopping it coming into Canada, to be honest…For a country that allows one to buy firearms, guns, bullets, stopping a soft drink suitable for all ages seems a little ludicrous.”
