A family are bereft after their beloved Marmite was confiscated by Stansted airport security as a father tried to satisfy his daughter’s homesick urges for the divisive yeast extract.
Zebedee Massey, 59, was taking the beloved British spread as a gift for his daughter Ben, 26, who lives without access to it in Iceland.
But border patrol seized the 125g jar because it was over the 100ml flying limit, but the family claim the viscous contents are actually only 96ml.
Zebedee and Ben have been left ‘sad’ and ‘disappointed’ after the ordeal, which also saw the dad being body searched.
The care home site manager, his wife Heather and other daughter Amy had just gone through baggage control at Stansted when Zebedee was pulled aside for a random body search.
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The family were en-route to Iceland, to visit Ben, whose been living in the Nordic country on a working visa.
With no Marmite on sale in Iceland, Zebedee had promised to bring over a jar to keep Ben happy.
However, moments after the unrelated body search, their favourite food stuff was taken from the bag of liquids by officers.
Zebedee told Metro: ‘They looked in the bag and they saw the little 125 ml tub of Marmite, which I was bringing for my daughter because she loves Marmite.
‘They said, “Oh, no. It’s too big. It’s over 100, so we’re gonna have to confiscate it.”
‘I was very sad about that but my daughter’s even more sad about it. As a family we love Marmite.’
Zebedee, who regularly has the spread for breakfast with toast, didn’t challenge officers at the time and went on his way to Iceland.
But a quick Google search has made the family think the item should not have been taken.
That’s because while the Marmite is in a 125g jar, mathematicians online claim the density of Marmite is over 1.3 g/ml.
That would mean the contents of the marmite inside is actually less than the 100 ml limit, around 96 ml.
‘My daughter thinks they were wrong to take the Marmite, that it wasn’t over 100ml,’ says Zebedee, who now agrees.
But for now Ben is Marmiteless, with Iceland not stocking any of the divisive yeast extract in their stores.
Zebedee, who has otherwise been loving his time in Iceland, added: ‘There is none at all anywhere. They don’t sell it.’
The family are now calling on Unilever to manufacture a travel size bottle of the black stuff.
This is not the first time the site manager has discussed Marmite in recent weeks, its also cropped up in his work.
One of his latest care home projects in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, has a controversial design that’s meant it’s being dubbed the ‘Marmite building’.
Zebedee explained: ‘We’ve just finished a 66 bed care home.
‘It’s a new design with a flat roof and various pieces – some people like it, some people don’t like it.
‘My MD came over and he said, “I think we’ll have to call this the Marmite building because you either love it or hate it.”
‘So Marmite’s been on the conversation for quite a few days now.’
A Stansted Airport spokesman told Metro: ‘If the container was 125ml it was too big under current regulations.
‘No non-compliant items are confiscated or seized, they are surrendered by passengers if they choose not to put them in checked-in baggage or don’t want to take up the option to have them forwarded to their onward destination.’
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