Someone said on the vegemite thread they suspected this may be the case, so i looked around the net and nothing i could find supported this. In fact it seems like it has pretty much the same ingredients as both marmite and vegemite.

It′s something I′d very much like to know...what is it in Promite that is no good for vegans/vegetarians?

I remember also in primary school, the kids used to say that promite had oxe′s blood in it, and that vegemite was better. Surely there′s no Oxen blood, but where did that theory come from? Does it have any truth in there anywhere??

Thank-you,
-Haylee

Hello Hayley, and welcome to the Forum.

Promite used to have animal ingredients in it, but don′t know whether it still does.  I haven′t heard from anyone as yet that it is vegetarian friendly, but will check it out and get back to you.

hello dark horse and haylee,

i was in the middle of writing my reply and the computer crashed, dont you just hate that!
okay, so here i go again.

i found an old jar (1 year old) of promite growing dust on the shelf and it doesnt have stearic acid listed.
the only strange sounding ingredient is an emulsifer known as glycerol monostearate.

maybe there is a connection between the (mono)stearate and stearic acid???

perhaps eve can shed some light on the matter as to which ingredient/s are from an animal source?

i might check out masterfoods homepage and email them. we shall see what they say.
ill let you know if i find out anymore info.

personal note: i don′t buy from them anymore, big multinationals!

Hello Haylee
I′d also like to welcome you to the forum. As regards this particular topic, I recall some years ago when I was living in Sydney, preferring Promite to the others, but I did read something that put me off.  I will certainly check out the source and post whatever I find out.
Cheers

Thanks for all the welcome :)

I really appreciate any light you can shed on this Eve, and everyone.

Though to be truthful, I wouldn′t have even really taken any notice of "steric acid" listed on the ingredients as something animal (peeked at the vegemite thread again). So I will check myself for that too.
Food manufacturers are allowed to be so sneaky, it′s really disturbing.

i thought i would post this here too:

* stearic acid (E570)# organic acid prepared from stearin
* stearin(e)# general name for the three glycerids (monostearin, distearin, tristearin). Formed by the combination of stearic acid and glycerin; chiefly applied to tristearin, which is the main constituent of tallow or suet Use/s: medicines, skin softener in toiletries and cosmetics

note: a ′#′ indicates that non-animal (synthetic, vegetable or plant/mineral-derived) versions/sources by the same name are known to exist


taken from "Glossary of Animal Substances" at
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/info/info30.html

There was an email from a Jewish source in Sydney today, saying that only Vegemite is now on their kosher list - neither marmite nor promite is. This would indicate there may be some meat residue making Promite & Marmite unsuitable. But I′m hoping to be told the reason they are no longer suitable (especially as I love Marmite!).

Also, Greenpeace says that Masterfoods indicate they have embarked on a program of identifying the origins and supply chains of everything that goes into their products to ensure that no GM ingredients, additives or derivatives are used in their manufacture. Greenpeace quote Bruce Perkin, R&D Director, Letter April 2002.

Now that Marmite has added B12, I′d like to know the origin of that, and hope to find out.

Hi Haylee
I now have a definitive answer as follows:
"Sanitarium Marmite product of Australia is both Kosher and Pareve. Promite uses an emulsifier which we haven′t yet been able to source."

That means there is absolutely no meat in Marmite - hooray, my favourite! But as they′ve not been able to source the emulsifier used for Promite, there is some doubt. However, that is up to individuals, but I′ll stick with Marmite.

Okay, great :)

Thank-you for your trouble Eve,
-Haylee

Hi Haylee
I′ve just had this reply from Masterfoods re Promite

"Thank you for contacting us regarding PROMITE.

We are pleased to advise that PROMITE has recently changed recipe to be suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

To identify the jars of suitable product you should check below the ingredients listing on the label for the ′Suitable for Vegetarians′ statement.

We trust this information is of assistance to you and thank you for your interest in our product.

Yours faithfully
SUSAN HUGHES
Consumer Services"

So that means that previously it wasn′t  suitable for vegetarians.
I hope that adds to the info.

When there is furthr clarification re Vegemite, I may prepare something for the Q&A page, in case the question is asked again.

they still didnt reply to my email.
oh well, at least we know they have no animal products in them.
yaaaay for all who eat it.

Hi, this will be my last post on the subject, as the info will go into the Q&A section shortly. This post is to inform the vegemite users that Kraft Vegemite is affected by animal residue of a similar product for 6 months of the year. If you see a ′K′ beside the USE BY DATE, then it is OK. Otherwise it is not.

In summary then, Australian Marmite by Sanitarium is always free of meat. Masterfoods tell us that their Promite is now suitable for veggies & vegans. Kraft Vegemite is suitable 6 months of the year - just check it is ok if there′s a K by the use-by date.