The spread, made from leftover brewer’s yeast and similar to British Marmite, is famously and bizarrely popular down under.

However, it has been banned from prisons in Victoria since 2006 as officials say it “interferes with narcotic detection dogs” and its yeast content can be used to make illicit alcohol.

Andre McKechnie, who is serving a life sentence, alleges in a new lawsuit that the ban denies him the right to “enjoy his culture as an Australian”, the BBC reports.

He is relying on Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 which guarantees cultural, religious and linguistic rights.

The case is set to be heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria next year.