Critics Slam Vegemite Contest

Vegemite Label: AZAdam, Flickr

Kraft Foods Australia launched a new Vegemite product earlier this year, asking aficionados to name the jars of Vegemite mixed with cream cheese. When the name -- Vegemite iSnack 2.0 -- was announced in September, Vegemite protests erupted on the Internet where fans blasted the name as "uStupid 1.0" and "un-Australian," the New York Times reports.

Four days later, Kraft announced it would hold another vote from a pool of more conservative choices including Vegemate, Snackmate and Vegemild. Vegemite Cheesybite was chosen through online and telephone voting. This is a very important issue if you're a fan of Vegemite, the "salty, gooey yeast paste" that Australians eat like Americans eat peanut butter, the Times reports.

The controversy shows just how passionate the Aussies are about their Vegemite.

"Australian food was really bad until the 1970s: boiled meat and vegetables without any butter or salt. Vegemite was one of the things that actually had any flavor, and that's why it became so incredibly popular," Sydney chef Bill Granger told the Times. "It's one of the only foods that is unique to Australia, and people see it as being quintessentially Australian."

Kraft said the Cheesybite product will hit shelves in two or three months, after the remaining 500,000 jars with the iSnack 2.0 label are sold.

[Via New York Times]

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