'Vegemite watch' ruled out after reports of spread being used to brew alcohol

Despite comments from Indigenous affairs minister that the yeast spread was a 'precursor to misery' in alcohol-free communities, police say story is 'a beat up'

Queensland police have ruled out any crackdown on Vegemite, playing down recent suggestions that it is illegally being used to produce alcohol in Indigenous dry communities.

The federal Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, made worldwide headlines after describing the yeast spread as a "precursor to misery" in the hands of homebrewers skirting alcohol restrictions.