The owner of a British food shop in Canada has been prohibited from selling Marmite, Ovaltine and Irn-Bru.
Tony Badger, who owns Brit Foods, says he has stocked and sold the items since 1997.
Irn-Bru, Scotland’s most popular soft drink, contains the food colouring Ponceau 4R. It is not permitted in foods for sale in Canada, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
The colouring has been linked to hyperactivity.
Marmite has added vitamins “not permitted to be added to spreads” by Canadian food regulations, CFIA said, although it did not name specific brands.
The agency, however, did make it clear that “there is no food safety risk associated with these products”, but they are in violation of Canada’s food safety laws.
Mr Badger’s problems began in October when his Christmas stock was seized after it had arrived from the UK.
He believes that CFIA is conducting a health assessment on the foods to determine if they are fit for sale. For its part, CFIA said it had begun an investigation and would “take appropriate action as needed”.
