Mustard lovers in Colombia are despairing amid a major Dijon shortage
A new illegal product is on the rise in Colombia. Desperate consumers are sneaking it into suitcases from overseas, hoarding it in their homes, paying outrageous prices online and lining up at clandestine locations to buy it.
The contraband? Dijon mustard.
A new health law designed to improve Colombians’ diets — which are high in meat and fried foods — has led to the disappearance of a host of foods from market shelves, including the French delicacy of the spice world.
“It’s just pathetic,” says Sylvère Belliot, owner of a bakery in Bogotá, the capital.
“Mustard is part of being French,” he said. “It’s essential to enjoy food.”
Inspired by an effort by the Pan American Health Organization to address the region’s high rates of cardiovascular disease, the Colombian Ministry of Health imposed limits on high-sodium products in 2020, with the measure taking effect last November .
The rule limits sodium for 59 products, including breakfast cereals, processed meats, nuts, breads and cheeses. Mustard should contain less than 817 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams. A jar of gray Poupon Dijon mustard has nearly three times that ratio.
While French restaurants are relatively easy to find in some of the country’s larger cities, French cuisine isn’t necessarily wildly popular among average Colombians.
Still, mustard is a popular condiment in many homes, and there are plenty of outraged Dijon lovers who say they’re being punished.
Even stricter health restrictions will come into effect by 2024, lowering the limit for mustard to 600 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams. Manufacturers who do not reduce the sodium content of affected products by then will no longer be allowed to sell them.
Since the limits went into effect, food and industry experts said, Dijon mustard has largely disappeared from stores and is no longer being replenished.
That’s because mustard producers in France and the United States are unlikely to adapt their products to a single country’s standards, and even if they did, the final product would no longer be considered true Dijon mustard.
This has made mustard scarce and expensive.
A jar of Maille, a brand of French Dijon mustard that originated in the 18th century, is now sold for as much as $25 on Mercado Libre, an online marketplace. And now that mustard has largely disappeared from supermarkets, Colombians and expats are getting creative.
Flambée, a French restaurant in Bogotá popular with diplomats and business people, sold homemade Dijon for weeks for about $7 a jar, about twice the usual price, in addition to the sumptuous array of escargot and pate.
Two industry experts said that with such high demand, especially from restaurants, it was only a matter of time before larger and better organized spice smuggling operations kicked off.
“Everyone is looking for mustard,” said Stephan Lochbühler, an owner of Magnifique, a chain of French bakeries in Bogotá, who said he’s been making his own mustard for the past few months, with subpar results.
Some local manufacturers of other products subject to the national health rule have already begun adjusting their sodium levels to keep them on store shelves — a huge win, according to health care policymakers. Leendert Nederveen, head of the Pan American Health Organization’s nutrition unit, defended the Colombian policy, saying it was “really well done.”
“It’s the government’s job to protect consumers,” Mr Nederveen said, adding that 65 countries had set sodium limits for processed products.
A high sodium intake increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the country, says Evelyne Degraff, an advisor to the health organization in Colombia.
While Isabel Carmona, a nutritionist in Colombia who has studied the country’s sodium consumption, praised the intent of the new policy, she said the inclusion of certain products was “illogical.”
“For many industries, the limits set are disproportionate,” she said.
Under the new rule, high-salt foods popular in Colombia, such as chicharrón, or fried pork rind, may still be sold with a sodium limit twice that of mustard, despite consumers eating them by the bag. Mustard, on the other hand, is consumed in small quantities.
The Health Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
But Elisa Cadena, who worked for the ministry from 2013 to 2022, said the regulation was developed using data from a national nutrition survey and in collaboration with health and industry groups.
In these cases, the ministry should “revise the standard for this type of product and see if it can make changes,” said Ms. Cadena, who now works on school nutrition for the Colombian Ministry of Education.
Thierry Ways, the owner of La Parisienne, a delicatessen in the coastal city of Barranquilla, also pointed out the inconsistency in the new rule.
“What’s the point of banning mustard simply because it contains a lot of salt per 100 grams?” he said. “You don’t eat 100 grams of mustard in one sitting.” A single serving of mustard is five grams, according to nutrition labels.
“We are treating some very standard and common products of international cuisine as if they were controlled substances,” he added.
Mustard has been a French staple since the 1300s, said Demet Güzey, a food writer and author of the book “Mustard: A Global History.” Pope John XXII of Avignon is said to have appointed his own personal mustard officer, giving rise to the French expression “he thinks he’s the pope’s chief mustard maker” to suggest someone is conceited.
According to Carlos Garcés, the manager of a food import company, and Colin Gavignet, an elected representative of the French people in Colombia, there have been discussions at the French embassy in Bogotá about how to handle the mustard restriction.
The French embassy in Colombia declined to comment.
Other cuisines are also affected because the policy also applies to many Asian sauces, such as soy, fish and teriyaki.
Javier Cardozo, the manager of Hico Fish, an Asian food importer in Colombia, said he only learned of the regulations this year when he returned products he had already paid.
“We’re really feeling it right now,” he said. “Kitchens are hit by a shortage of certain ingredients.”
Flambée’s homemade black market Dijon was a success. Until recently, the restaurant was selling about 11 pounds of mustard a week to individuals and businesses, and it was looking for another space with industrial machinery to meet demand.
But then the restaurant decided to shut down due to bureaucratic hurdles, said its owner, Denis Schwebel.
Mr Schwebel said friends of his are already coming up with a plan B: making their own mustard at home using recipes found online.
“There is always a solution,” he said.