25 Foods Banned Around The World

Banned in: New Zealand & parts of the U.K.
Reason: Potential Bacteria
Est. Global Sales: $6 billion in Burger King sales for 2020*

A true fan of beef will tell you that the only way to truly eat a burger or steak is to have it “walking off the plate”. A lot of people like to go with the motto, “the bloodier the better”, but, unfortunately, when visiting New Zealand or parts of the U.K., true carnivores won’t be able to get the fix that they crave.

Rare Burgers ©frantic00 / Shutterstock.com

Cooking beef any rarer than medium-rare is not allowed in some countries because of the potentially high levels of bacteria that the meat might be carrying. If a rare steak is a must, however, one could always buy meat from the butcher and prepare their meal at home.

Banned in: Venice
Reason: Bad For Cultural Image
Est. Global Sales: $2 billion per year for German Doner Kebab, a major producer

Having a wide range of foods available from all over the world has helped many cities cement their places in the food world. One of the things that help give a city its personality, after all, is its food scene. In most European cities, kebabs are the go-to food for late-night snackers, but not in Venice. 

Kebabs ©coolstok / Shutterstock.com

Kebabs are cheap, easy to make, and, to be honest, if enough sauce is added, it doesn’t matter what the meat actually tastes like. In Venice, a food ban was put on kebabs for that very reason. It’s believed that the low-quality fast food hurts the image of the city.

Banned in: Singapore
Reason: Cleanliness
Est. Global Sales: $105 billion per year*

When getting ready for an important meeting or a date many people turn to chewing gum to help improve the smell of their breath. There are certain places in the world, one in particular, where anyone who is looking to get rid of morning breath in a hurry would be better off turning to a mint or some mouthwash instead.

Chewing Gum ©RossHelen / Shutterstock.com

In 1992, in order to help clean up the streets, chewing gum was banned in Singapore. There are exceptions for people to chew in public, but proof of a medical prescription must be shown. Without the proper paperwork, be prepared for a penalty of up to 2 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000.

Banned in: The United Kingdom & Canada
Reason: Gastrointestinal Side Effects
Est. Global Sales: $555.9 billion per year for global chips market*

Fat-free chips were created in order to give people an alternative to the greasy, fatty, delicious, salt-covered snacks that so many people have a hard time saying “no” to. A fat-free alternative sounds great, but nothing great comes without a price. The Canadian and U.K. governments aren’t willing to pay that price.

Fat-Free Chips ©Alexander Prokopenko / Shutterstock.com

One of the main ingredients in fat-free potato chips is olestra (Olean). It adds no fat, cholesterol, or calories, but it does give frequent consumers stomach cramps, a bad case of gas, and diarrhea. Before going out of one’s way to smuggle some of these fat-free snacks across the border, one must evaluate if the risk is truly worth the reward.

Banned in: Norway, Austria, and the European Union
Reason: Harmful Coloring Agents
Est. Global Sales: $4.5 billion per year for Kraft*

In North America, one of the more popular lunches for children is Mac and Cheese. Not the homemade oven-baked kind, but the boxed kind that comes with a sachet of cheese powder and instructions on the back on how to properly prepare the meal. It’s an easy-to-make, low ingredient dish that children (outside of France) enjoy with ketchup. 

Mac and Cheese ©Azra H / Shutterstock.com

Boxed Mac and Cheese is banned in the European Union, Austria, and Norway because of a coloring agent that it’s made with that has proven to be harmful to children. Kraft Heinz Co has recently removed Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 from its European Mac & Cheese in order to continue European sales.

Banned in: Austria, Singapore, and the U.K.
Reason: Contains Azodicarbonamide
Est. Global Sales: $15.1 billion per year*

In recent years, it has become increasingly common to keep a bag of frozen french fries in your freezer at home. The fries are easy to store and have a seemingly eternal shelf life that can be attributed to the azodicarbonamide that some brands of fries contain.

Various Brands of French Fries ©K321 / Shutterstock.com

Some people are worried that azodicarbonamide can lead to complications for those who suffer from asthma. For that reason, the chemical compound and any foods that contain it have been banned in Austria, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

Banned in: The United States
Reason: Fermentation Process
Est. Global Sales: $2-$4 million per year*

The fermentation of casu marzu causes the inside of the hard pecorino cheese to soften into an almost creamy texture. However, it is the very fermentation that gives the cheese its best qualities that is also the reason why the cheese is banned in America.

Casu Marzu @SABreakingNews / Twitter.com

In order to turn the inside of the cheese into that delicious creamy texture, fly larvae are placed in the cheese before fermentation. The larvae release a liquid that helps to break down the cheese and give it its “appeal”. The United States, along with a few other countries, decided that eating maggot cheese was not in the best interest of their citizens.

Banned in: Singapore
Reason: The Smell
Est. Global Sales: $17.6 billion per year*

Durian fruit can be found on most of the Southeast Asian islands. The fruit is said to have the creamy texture of a cheesecake but the taste of sweet custard. Some durian fruit can be a little bit bitter, but, surely, that’s no reason for it to be banned in Singapore. Is it?

Durian fruit © David Gn/stock.adobe.com

The answer is no. The taste of durian does not have anything to do with why it has been banned. The smell, on the other hand, is repulsive to most people. In order to solve the problem of smelly fruit being eaten in public, Singapore just opted to ban the fruit altogether.

Banned in: California, Italy, India, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Israel, Australia, Germany, and many more
Reason: Animal Cruelty
Est. Global Sales: $1.44 billion by 2026*

Foie gras is a well-known item in French cuisine. It is made out of duck (sometimes goose) liver and has a delicate flavor that is sought after by those with rich palates, and deep pockets, from around the world. Due to how the dish is prepared, however, foie gras has been banned in quite a few countries.

Foie Gras ©argouillat photo / Shutterstock.com

In order to achieve the rich and buttery flavor of foie gras, the ducks are restrained and force-fed through a tube twice a day for almost two weeks. It’s hard not to agree with the many countries that have called foul, and banned the product due to the cruel nature in which it is made.

Banned in: The U.K. & the U.S.
Reason: Meat Is Unfit For Human Consumption
Est. Global Sales: $360.6 million in 2020*

Yesteryear was a simpler time. A time when people made their own butter and frequently ate horse meat. All of that changed, however, once modern medicine got involved, when, all of a sudden, eating horse meat wasn’t the ‘in’ thing to do anymore.

Horse Meat ©papillondream / Shutterstock.com

Eating horse meat has long been outlawed in the United States and the U.K. because of the medicines and drugs that horses are given over the course of their lives. According to the Smithsonian, the medical cocktail “makes them unfit for our plates”.

Banned in: Somalia
Reason: Religious Beliefs
Est. Global Sales: $1.69 million per year in sales revenue for Sultan of Samosas, a major producer*

Samosas have been part of South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine for centuries, however, in recent years, one east African nation decided to take a stand against the pocket pastry. Interestingly enough, unlike many of the other foods on this list, the reason had nothing to do with any of the ingredients.

Samosas ©Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com

In a samosa’s case, apparently, looks are everything. In 2011, Somalia’s religious leaders banned the triangular-shaped food from the country because, as followers of Islam, they felt as though the three corners of the fried snack were too similar to Christianity’s symbol for the Holy Trinity.

Banned in: France
Reason: Nutritional Guidelines
Est. Global Sales: $7 billion per year for plant-based foods*

With the increase in vegan and vegetarianism over the past few decades, in order to provide meal options for all of the students many schools around the world have adapted their cafeteria menus accordingly. This change is something that not all countries have been able to get behind, with one even making the school dining experience more difficult for vegetarian students.

Vegetarian Meals ©AS Food studio / Shutterstock.com

In 2011, new nutritional guidelines, that removed non-meat protein sources from school meals, were implemented in cafeterias France-wide, thus eliminating the options that vegetarian students had for dining at their school’s canteen.

Banned in: Great Britain
Reason: Contains Erythrosine
Est. Global Sales: $227.4 billion by 2027 for the global confectionery market*

Any cake or doughnut enthusiast will be able to vouch for the positive influence that sprinkles have on pastries, but that’s nothing compared to the important part that sprinkles play on any well-built ice-cream sundae. It’s hard to believe that a topping as popular as sprinkles could actually be banned in some countries.

American-Made Sprinkles ©HandmadePictures / Shutterstock.com

No, Great Britain did not ban all sprinkles, but it did ban ones from the United States because they contain erythrosine, or as Americans might know it, FD&C Red No. 3. Linked to hyperactivity in children, erythrosine has been banned for use in foods across Great Britain, with cocktail cherries and decorative Easter eggs being two of the items that received a free pass.

Banned in: United Kingdom, Canada, Peru, and Others
Reason: Contains Potassium Bromate
Est. Global Sales: $401.7 billion annually for total bread market*

Good old American-made white bread has been the base for grilled cheese and PB&J sandwiches in the United States since before the days of “Leave It To Beaver”. In order to produce large quantities of the bread in as short, and cost-effective a manner as possible, American bread makers got a little help from potassium bromate.

American-Made White Bread ©PosiNote / Shutterstock.com

The potassium bromate helps the dough rise higher, bake quicker, and helps to give the bread its bright white color. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. Potassium bromate has been banned in a number of countries due to its link to kidney and nervous system damage, as well as cancer.