Grub Lockdown: Foods That Have Been Banned in the U.S.

Image via Complex Original

Where can you legally eat this? Anywhere else in the world. Just not America.

It's not that America doesn't want children to be happy. Since the 1930s, there has been a ban on candies and treats embedded with toys and other inedible objects. Alas, the beloved Kinder Surprise was ripped out of our lives for fear of kids choking on the small trinkets hidden inside the chocolate eggs. Apparently the consequences of smuggling one of these bad boys into the country are severe, even if you're an unknowing tourist attempting to bring some joy to deprived Americans; You can face fines up to $2,500 per egg! While other candymakers have created confectionary products similar to Kinder Surprises, even managing to find a way around the ban, there's still nothing quite like a Kinder Surprise, which is a product of Ferrero. Plus, the fact that it's outlawed makes it all the more appealing. Guess we'll just have to go abroad if we ever want to have another Kinder Egg.

Where can you legally eat this? As of 2005, you can have ackee fruit in the U.S. again.

It seems strange to the people of Jamaica that the U.S. once placed a ban on the importation of the Ackee fruit. This fruit, related to the lychee and longan, happens to be the national fruit of Jamaica. In fact, their national dish consists of boiled saltfish sauteed with slices of ackee, onions, peppers, and tomatoes that's garnished with bacon—our mouths are watering right now just imagining it. So what's the problem? Like many foods that are or have been on U.S.'s list of banned foods, there's a potential health risk with this tricky fruit. Unriped ackee fruit and inedible parts of the fruit contain toxins, which can cause your sugar levels to plummet and potentially lead to death when consumed. However, in 2005, the FDA approved the first shipment of ackee fruits, allowing the fruits into the country so long as the level of toxins remain low and meet FDA standards.

Where can you legally eat this? Just go to Scotland, where haggis originated.

Though it might sound unappetizing, haggis is a popular Scottish dish. Yes, we're talking about a pudding made from boiling the heart, liver, and lungs of sheep with oatmeal, suet, spices, and other seasonings inside of a sheep's stomach. After its been cooked, it apparently tastes like spicy, minced meat. But whether you're an adventurous eater or not, it's unlikely you'll be able to try haggis unless you leave the U.S, because it's illegal to import food containing sheep lungs from other countries. So, you can technically still enjoy sheep heart and liver, just without the lungs. But that would be like drinking a glass of "wine product," which is clearly a paltry substitute for the real thing.

Where can you legally eat this? You can eat pufferfish just about anywhere, provided it's prepared by a licensed chef. However, it is strictly forbidden in the European Union.

Like the ackee fruit, pufferfish can be deadly if it's not prepared properly. While the pufferfish is not technically banned in the U.S., there are several restrictions on serving the fish. The pufferfish or fugu, one of the most widely eaten dishes in Japan, contains tetrodotoxin in certain organs, which can lead to asphyxiation and death if consumed. In Japan, only those who are qualified and have undergone extensive training can prepare the fish. Similarly, in the U.S., it's illegal for those without a license to serve pufferfish.

Where can you legally eat this? As of right now, many countries allow it. Nevertheless, numerous supermarkets in Singapore, tourist attractions in Hong Kong, and some cities in Canada have banned shark fin soup. California prohibits the sale or possession of shark fins.

Considered a delicacy in China, shark fin soup is a must-have at any large banquet, wedding, or swanky party. Apparently, a pound of shark fin sells for hundreds of dollars, according to the New York Times. Due to a high demand for this savory broth in both China and certain areas in the U.S., the population of sharks are quickly diminishing. Thus, California and many states have outlawed the consumption of shark fin soup. And, while removing the fish fins and throwing the finless sharks back into the sea (appropriately called shark finning) is definitely illegal in the U.S., consuming the soup is legal in certain places.

Where can you legally eat this? Oaxaca, as its name might suggest.

The U.S. is pretty strict about the meat it allows into the country from the rest of the world. Besides Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico, which are all members of NAFTA, no other state can export meat into the U.S. However, with Mexican pork, certain areas in Mexico, like Oaxaca, are forbidden from transporting pork into the U.S.

Where can you legally eat this? You can import queen conches from some caribbean countries like Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago, where there are no trade prohibitions on the sea snail.

For seafood lovers, getting the chance to feast on a queen conch might just be the pinnacle of their dining adventures. Queen conches, which have the texture of squid and tastes like a combination of scallops and crabs, make delectable eats. Back when they were legal, they were often sauteed in butter, fried as fritters, or cooked in chowder to serve as both appetizers and entrees, too. The problem is now that we've overfished and devoured so many of these Caribbean sea snails, it is now illegal to import queen conches from Haiti and Grenada.

Where is it legal? Only rice from certain countries are prohibited from entering the U.S.

Just like with meat, the U.S. bans produce and grains from many countries around the world for fear of disease and invasive species like the Khapra beetle. In fact, rice from places like Morocco and Bangladesh is banned because of the pesky little chomper.

Where can you legally eat this? The Cayman Islands play home to controversial turtle farms, where sea turtles are bred to be slaughtered and eaten. Though, we're sure other places in the world have managed to sell the sea creature for others to eat as well.

We don't know why you would ever eat a cute little sea turtle, whether it's an endangered species or not. But it's most definitely illegal to import a sea turtle into the U.S. Apparently, it makes a yummy soup and tastes sort of like veal. Do us a favor, though, and stick to veal if you feel like having something that tastes like veal. And don't sacrifice a helpless sea turtle just so you can slurp on some tasty soup.

Where can you legally eat this? Lorraine, France.

Don't these mirabelle plums look sweet and plump? Unfortunately, because of import laws enforced by the U.S., we will never know what they taste like unless we go to Lorraine, France, where they are grown.

Where can you legally eat this? You can kill a swan to eat anywhere outside of the U.S. and the UK. In the UK, the swans are apparently all owned by the royal family; only they can hunt a swan. In America, mute and trumpeter swans are considered endangered species, so you're not allowed to hunt them.

As you've probably guessed from the trend of foods we've listed so far, usually when an animal is in danger of becoming extinct, it becomes a taboo food in the U.S., forbidden from being served or consumed. A case in point is the swan, which used to be considered "royal food" in England, a meal meant for only the monarchs who could afford it. You can be charged with huge fines for killing, consuming, or even harming a swan in certain states.

Where can you legally eat this? Consuming unpasteurized cheese isn't really the issue. You just can't bring unpasteurized cheese into the country, unless it's 60 days old. If you want some good, ol' unpasteurized brie, head to France! That's where the good stuff is.

Just consider the U.S. a huge germaphobe. The Food and Drug Administration is super particular about what is allowed past U.S. borders in attempt to keep diseases and dangerous bacteria out of our country. Sometimes, this is done at the expense of delicious, benign cheeses from France. Much to the frustration of cheese buffs everywhere, unless cheese has been pasteurized (heated until all harmful bacteria has been killed off) and aged for at least 60 days, it won't make it onto our samplers of cheese and grapes.

Where can you legally eat this? The U.S. is a bit more lenient with unpasteurized milk. You can legally drink unpasteurized milk; it's the sale that may or may not be problematic, depending on which state you're in.

Likewise, unpasteurized milk has battled legislation over the years as well. Health nuts go crazy over this stuff; apparently, raw milk contains substances that are extremely good for you. Luckily for them, unpasteurized milk isn't completely banned in the U.S. There are restrictions, but you can still buy unpasteurized milk in some states.

Where can you legally eat this? Since the ortolan is an endangered species, there essentially is no place you can eat an ortolan without facing consequences, if caught. You can be fined $10,000 for killing an ortolan in France. Even selling an ortolan is a crime in both France and the U.S.

We imagine the ortolan, a now endangered songbird, traditionally eaten by French aristocrats back in the day, probably tastes something like a squab (that's a young pigeon). But pigeons are as far as we'll go when it comes to poultry. Eating the bird is illegal in both the U.S. and France, where the ortolan is a symbol of "the French soul." Anthony Bourdain, on the other hand, has chowed down on the tiny bird, and here's what he had to say about his experience: "I bring my molars down and through my bird's rib cage with a wet crunch and am rewarded with a scalding hot rush of burning fat and guts down my throat. Rarely have pain and delight combined so well." What do you think? Delicious or disgusting? Is the ban on ortolan consumption justified?

Where can you legally eat this? You can legally consume foie gras anywhere. It's just that the production of foie gras through force-feeding is strictly banned in California, Argentina, Turkey, Israel, and a few members of the European Union.  

While foie gras may taste rich and buttery, you probably won't want to have it around PETA activists. Foie gras is controversial because making it usually involves the force-feeding and inhumane treatment of ducks and geese. Basically, foie gras is made is through shoving a tube down the throats of ducks and geese and stuffing them with food, sometimes scarring their esophagus, causing their liver to swell, and impairing their other organs. While you are free to consume foie gras in California, the state has banned the force-feeding of ducks as well as the sale of foie gras made from this method.