There are foods out there that aren’t good for you and yet we continue to eat them every day. Junk food, sweets, and highly processed packaged foods are in nearly every kitchen cupboard and fridge in America. Did you know, however, that there are some foods or ingredients that are so bad, they’re actually banned in other countries? This is a list of American foods banned in various countries around the world. You may want to avoid these products the next time you’re shopping.
28 American Foods Banned In Other Countries
When you say American food, most people will say things like fast-food burgers, fries, and gigantic sodas. The country is known for producing large, “extreme” foods (hi freak shakes), but not so much for fine quality. As it turns out, some American foods that you might even eat every day are actually so bad for you, they are banned in other countries.
1. Brominated Vegetable Oil: Common Soda Ingredient
There could be more than just a shockingly high amount of sugar in your soda or sports drink. In many cases, an ingredient called brominated vegetable oil is also hiding in there. It is flame-retardant and can cause a host of health issues. For these reasons, it is banned in several places, most notably Europe (yes, the entire continent) and Japan. Coca-Cola and Pepsi said in 2014 that they were removing it from their beverages, but in the end, there isn’t much regulation on it. Check your labels (it has to be listed), especially if drinking smaller, lesser-known brands.
2. A Hormone Added To Milk
A hormone known as rBST is still added to some American dairy. It has been linked to many health problems in the cows themselves, though it is still not clear what effects it has on human health. It is banned in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe.
3. Food Dye In Boxed Mac N’ Cheese
Though banned in Norway, Finland, and a handful of other countries, you can still find yellow #5 and #6 added to some boxed macaroni and cheese in America. These two dyes are known to cause hyperactivity in children. Make sure you read your labels and avoid brands that contain this chemical.
4. Pink Slime
Remember the pink slime scandal of 2012? Well, that “beef” that some try to market as good, healthy ground beef is actually banned in Canada and the entire European Union. This additive to lower fat content in ground beef is exposed to ammonia during its processing. This can cause a number of health problems in humans.
5. Genetically Modified Foods
There is still a lot of debate over genetically modified foods (GMOs) and their health, safety, and efficacy. Countless countries have banned them, including most of the EU, Russia, several Latin American countries, some of Asia, and four countries in Africa. Specifically, the EU has banned several American GMO products, including corn, soy, and papaya.
6. Chlorine Treated Chicken
According to the US, chlorinated chicken is safe for consumption. The chickens are treated with chlorine in order to remove harmful bacteria. The EU and UK, however, aren’t too sure. It’s been banned since 1997.
7. Pork
American pork is banned in 160 of the 196 countries in the world. Why? Because much of it contains the growth hormone ractopamine. It allows companies to produce more meat using less feed. This drug causes many pigs to become so large that they can barely stand or walk. They suffer terribly at slaughterhouses, being trampled, dragged, and electrically prodded.
8. Certain Bread Products
Wraps, rolls, bread crumbs, bagel chips, and flat breads made in America contain a chemical called potassium bromate. This is an oxidizer that helps bread rise. It has been linked to kidney and thyroid cancers in rodents. It is banned in Europe, Canada, and China, so you won’t find American bread products there.
9. Frozen Dinners
Azodicarbonamide is yet another chemical additive in American bread banned in Australia, the UK, and most of Europe. It is also found in frozen dinners and packaged baked goods. Another leavening agent, scientists have linked it to cancer in rodents. In fact, it has been banned in the EU for over a decade.
10. Sugar Cane
American sugar cane is treated with the weedkiller Atrazine. Linked to birth defects, reproductive tumors, skin sensitization, and muscle degeneration, it is banned in the European Union. It also easily leaks into waterways where it harms wildlife and the environment.
11. Fat-Free Products
Many fat-free snacks in America are made fat-free by using something called Olestra. Not only has it been linked to gastrointestinal disease in children and terrible diarrhea in adults, but it also has been shown to increase appetite. This is why both Canada and Europe have banned it.
12. Chewing Gum
American chewing gum contains the preservative butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). Known to cause cancer in rats, it’s also found in cereal, baked goods, packaging, cosmetics, snack foods, meats, butter, dehydrated potatoes, and beer. It’s banned in Japan, the UK, and much of Europe.
13. Salmon
Wild caught salmon is pink because of the carotenoids in their diet. American farmed salmon, however, do not eat a natural diet. Because of this, the farmers feed them synthetic astaxanthin. This can potentially cause eyesight damage and is therefore banned in Austria and New Zealand.
