How would you react if your favorite food was banned by the government? You’d be pretty annoyed, wouldn’t you? Well, here are some of the foods that are surprisingly banned around the world, as well as some that really ought to be.
Chicken with Arsenic
Chicken with arsenic sounds like the kind of fiendish recipe that a master criminal would concoct in order to kill someone as sneakily (and tastily) as possible. It would probably go great with strychnine potatoes and a hemlock broccoli salad. Chicken laced with arsenic is banned in the sensible old European Union but not in the US. It seems as though the organic version of arsenic helps the chicks grow quicker and, hey, look fresher. That’s alright then.
Curved Bananas
One of the things I miss about living in Europe is the flood of bonkers stories about things they had banned for no apparent reason. In the cases of bananas, they needed to meet a certain type of shape in order to be legally sold there. Many people think that it is straight bananas that were banned but it is, in fact, overly curved ones that really get up the noses of EU administrators. Sadly, reports suggest that this strange law on banned bananas has been withdrawn.
Farmed Salmon
What could possibly be wrong with good old farm salmon to get the little blighters banned by Australia and New Zealand? What’s that? They get fed an unnatural diet and get given loads of drugs and antibiotics? Their diet leaves them looking horrible and grey so they get more chemicals to make them look as though they are happy, well fed normal fish? Oh.
Ketchup
You would need to be a mad, raving lunatic or utter, utter spoilsport to ban our old buddy ketchup. Or French, I suppose. Our Gallic cousins haven’t banned the sticky tomatoey nonsense on health grounds. No, they have done so for cultural reasons. The ban is effective in schools across France.
Marmite
If you have never come across Marmite before then I would urge you to sink to your knees and thank whatever God you believe in for this small mercy. This horrid spread is the fourth most awful thing ever invented by man (closely behind war, sports cars I can’t afford and Tom Cruise). However, banning the rotten stuff seems a touch harsh. Yet, this is exactly what the harsh but fair Danes have done. Surprisingly, our friends in Copenhagen didn’t do this because of the foul taste. It’s something to do with Marmite being fortified with vitamins.
Haggis
I almost fell off my bagpipes and ruptured my sporran when I read about this. It seems as though Scotland’s national dish of haggis is banned in the USA. This is something to do with some crazy law about not using sheep lungs in food. Maybe if they made it of arsenic and fish pumped full of chemicals then it would be ok.
Pigs Blood Cake
This brilliant sounding food from Taiwan is banned in the USA because, err, it is made with pig’s blood. The method of preparation is described as unsanitary but to be honest it sounds like something I would really enjoy trying. It can’t be any worse than haggis, right?
Unpasteurized Milk
Many states across the US ban raw or unpasteurised milk because it could kill you! The microbes contained in this milk can be dangerous. It isn’t banned in Scotland and it isn’t banned in South America as far as I can tell, as I just bought a bottle of it the other day. I didn’t die.