Ice-cream king's flavor is his passport

ABERDEEN, Scotland, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- A Scottish ice cream magnate left his passport at his cottage in Norway but officials let him back into Scotland when he was able to identify his new flavor.

Maitland Mackie told The Scotsman he almost gave the wrong flavor when asked at the airport in Aberdeen. He was about to say mint chocolate chip when his wife, Halldis, reminded him that raspberry ripple was even newer.

Mackie blamed his wife for the passport debacle.

"My wife blamed me and I blamed my wife -- she was in charge of the passports,” he said. “Passports are my wife's responsibility and she forgot it -- you can see the blame culture coming in here."

The couple are frequent flyers between Bergen and Aberdeen, since Halldis Mackie is Norwegian. Mackie said he expected to be recognized at the airport and was a little shocked by the ice cream question.

“It was good to see security had such a sense of humor amid all the bureaucracy,” he said.

Mackie employs about 70 people at his Westertown farm and dairy, which makes the premium ice cream that bears his name.