i'll have the shepherd's pie i'm sorry but that's not on the menu foods we take for granted in
america are not always easily found elsewhere so let's check out 10 american foods that are
banned in other countries instant mashed potatoes you're not turning me into a mashed potato instant
mashed potatoes are a quick and easy way to make a classic dish without all the peeling and cutting
however you might be better off making your mashed potatoes from scratch instead of from
a pouch because there is a potential problem with the instant variety it turns out that these
convenient packages are made with a preservative called butylated hydroxyanisole bha this chemical
sounds like something you would expect to find at a crude oil processing plant instead of something
you would expect to find in packages of instant mashed potatoes there's something in my food this
preservative is found in a wide range of foods that includes everything from potato chips to gum
you can even find this chemical in some beers a lot of people have been turned off by this
information then for good reason some of the governments that think bha is problematic are
those of japan australia and the european union like so many other chemicals this preservative
is believed to be a carcinogen despite what these other countries have decided to do about bha
you're still going to find this preservative in your instant mashed potatoes when you buy them in
america fat free potato chips i'm your brand muffin probably fat free and good for your colon
fat-free potato chips sound like a great invention that many of us would embrace many snackers were
understandably delighted when fat-free snacks started showing up on their supermarket shelves
if the idea of tasty fat-free snacks sounds too good to be true it's because they kind of are
to make fat-free snack chips or french fries that taste decent the snack makers decided to
substitute the usual vegetable oils with a fat substitute called olestra unlike natural fatty
oils this chemical adds no calories to foods naturally olestra became a popular ingredient
in products like frito-lay's line of wow chips introduced in the 1990s bring back lay's wow
chips with olestra people readily accepted the introduction of snacks that contained the fake fat
because who doesn't want zero calorie potato chips snacks using this fake fat were popular at first
but then people started to notice that there could be some negative side effects some people suffered
uncomfortable stomach issues after eating products that contained olestra the more serious problem
however is the fact that the fake fat has been found to interfere with your body's ability to
absorb fat soluble vitamins perhaps the lesson we should take away from this is that we should
enjoy regular potato chips and other snacks in moderation instead of over indulging on a fake fat
that comes with negative side effects little debbie swiss rolls here have a little debbie
little debbie snack cakes have long been a favorite of kids of all ages who enjoy a sweet
treat these snack cakes come in many varieties including zebra cakes oatmeal cream pies as well
as the ever popular swiss rolls this sweet snack features chocolate cake cream filling and a rich
fudge coating as delicious as these little cakes sound they are actually one of the american foods
that are banned in other countries unfortunately these chocolate snack cakes contain a pair of
artificial food dyes called yellow 5 and red 40. both of these synthetic food dyes are believed
to cause negative side effects in children but it has a neat side effect the european union requires
that all foods that contain these artificial dyes come with a warning label on the package
the eu has banned the dyes all together in food for babies and young children
countries such as norway and austria have taken things to the next level and decided
to completely ban the little debbie swiss rolls from their supermarket shelves for people who
grew up eating little debbie snack cakes the ban on them might seem like a bit of an overreaction
whether the ban is necessary or not snack lovers in america can still get as many of the popular
little debbie snack cakes as they want including the swiss rolls mountain dew hey mountain dew
mountain dew is the citrus flavored high caffeine soda with the peculiar green color
it's not the caffeine however that has people concerned enough to want the soft drink banned
mountain dew contains an ingredient called brominated vegetable oil this is a food
additive that is sometimes found in citrus sodas some health experts have expressed concerns that
bvo can cause irritation of the skin and mucous membranes this additive has also been implicated
in some more serious problems as well such as memory loss and impaired balance and coordination
the potential problems thought to be caused by bvo have led a number of countries to ban
mountain dew no more mountain dew the places that have insisted on a ban include the european union
india and japan soda drinkers in america can still get their mountain dew fix whenever they want
so they might be a little surprised to know it is one of the american foods that are banned in
other countries it's too bad kids in these other countries can't get mountain dew maybe the soft
drink company could work to substitute bvo with an acceptable additive that we get mountain dew
on the supermarket shelves and the places it's currently not available chicken one meat one
chicken and can you make the chicken all white meat americans eat a lot of chicken both at home
and at restaurants it's a versatile meat that can be barbecued baked grilled and fried
there are so many ways to cook chicken that it seems like an obvious food for america to export
to other countries however chicken is one of the american foods that are banned in other countries
what's the issue with american chicken it's not the chicken itself but how it is processed
arsenic is often included in chicken feed because it increases the size of the chicken and it also
makes the color of their flesh more appealing to consumers perhaps these are worthy goals
for chicken processors but unfortunately the environmental protection agency lists arsenic
as a substance that can cause cancer in humans objection unhealthy the european union also
doesn't like the fact that many american chickens are bathed in a chlorine and water bath and has
banned the practice since 1997. the chicken companies argue that the chlorine and water
baths are legitimate antibacterial measures that reduce instances of food poisoning the eu probably
isn't going to change its decision anytime soon you'll have to decide what you think of these
practices for yourself the next time you buy chicken skittles i'd whisper it but skittles
to us the colorful skittles candies in the red bag might give candy lovers a taste of the rainbow but
the treat has issues that have to be addressed you might think of skittles as a harmless treat
you indulged in as a kid or perhaps you still enjoy them on a regular basis either way you
would probably want to know that this well-known candy is one of the american foods banned in other
countries like too many other foods skittles contain a pair of artificial dyes known as
yellow 5 and yellow 6. these dyes are found in everything from soft drinks to snack chips a
number of countries such as norway and sweden have decided to ban both of these artificial
dyes there are experts that believe these artificial food dyes can cause allergic reactions
as well as hyperactivity in children think chemical banks oh they were chemical the
european union allows the sale of skittles and other snacks that use dyes that are made from
natural sources like fruits and vegetables the eu requires products that contain the artificial dyes
to have labels that explain the concerns it has about allergies and hyperactivity so customers
can make an informed decision it would be nice if all the skittles were made with the natural
food dies but until that happens candy lovers in sweden and norway will have to do without
this colorful and tasty treat farmed salmon i is their wild salmon not farm raised salmon
salmon is usually described as a healthy choice by nutritionists and other food experts because
this fish is full of omega-3 fatty acids this hearty fish is a good choice most of the time
but unfortunately some kinds of salmon come with their own set of problems you should know about
if you have a choice you should always choose the natural caught salmon over the farm-raised salmon
the trouble with the farm-raised version is that the fish are often fed a diet of grains
and antibiotics as you probably guessed wild salmon do not normally eat grain antibiotics
or any other drugs this is an unhealthy diet that produces salmon with flesh that is an unappealing
gray color instead of the usual pink color you're used to seeing i won't eat them a chemical called
astaxanthin which is made from petrochemicals is given to the fish to turn their flesh back to pink
if you think none of this sounds appetizing you're not the only one because farm-raised salmon is one
of the american foods that are banned in other countries a lot of people will go out of their
way to get salmon specifically because they know about the health benefits it has over
a lot of other kinds of meat and fish if you're one of these health-conscious people you should
make sure you only get the wild caught variety so you're not eating fish that has been raised using
unhealthy practices m m's i bought m m's at the vending machine and two bags came out
m ms are the beloved chocolate candy with the colorful shells that melt in your mouth and not
in your hand despite their continued popularity with children and adults alike m ms are one of the
american foods that are banned in other countries in the case of m ms the bright candy shells are
the problem because in america the shells are made with artificial dyes the m ms you can buy in the
european union are made with natural food dyes instead of artificial ingredients you are natural
a petition was sent back in 2014 to try to get the candy maker mars inc to use the same
natural dyes it's already using in europe for the m m's it makes in america the candy company
agreed to stop using the artificial colors at some point but for now it is still using them for the
american-made candy perhaps mars is resistant to making the change because it would cost the
company a lot of money whatever the reason the m ms in america are still different than the ones
you can get in europe candy lovers probably don't care all that much about what kind of
dyes are being used to make the colorful shells that american snackers should be able to get the
better quality ingredients that their european cousins are enjoying when they open a bag of m ms
milk is that milk milk and other dairy products like cheese and yogurt are staples in many
kitchens across america milk continues to be a popular food because it is a good source of
protein and calcium much of the milk produced in america often can't be sold in other countries
because of what is added to it dairy products produced in america sometimes contain the growth
hormone known as rbhg this is a synthetic hormone that is fed to cows so they will produce more milk
than they would normally be able to produce on their own it makes sense that dairy producers
would want to do what they can to increase the amount of milk the cows make unfortunately there
is a downside to this practice since this hormone can come with negative consequences
for people wait that even happened to me when you ingest the synthetic hormone found in these dairy
products there is a possible increase in your risk of getting some types of cancer the european
union and canada have looked at this issue and decided to ban dairy products that contain this
growth hormone consumers in america can avoid exposure to this hormone if they buy organic
milk to dip their cookies in beef no roast beef beef is basically a staple of the american diet
people always have an appetite for hamburgers and steaks you can't go very far in america without
seeing a fast food chain that's trying to sell you a big juicy burger even with food prices on the
rise americans will likely continue to eat a lot of beef the european union as well as a number of
other countries have a serious issue with american beef because it is usually raised using growth
hormones the synthetic hormones used by american companies are designed to make the cattle grow
bigger than they naturally would maybe this is a smart business decision but it's not what's best
for the consumer the drugs have names like xeronal trenbolone acetate and melangestral acetate
these are very artificial sounding chemicals that probably shouldn't be in anyone's beef just
don't ask where the meat comes from america does have regulations that prohibit the use of growth
hormones for chicken and pork farmers however for some reason the regulators haven't made
the same mark on the beef industry yet if you want to buy beef in america and be confident it
doesn't contain the synthetic growth hormones you have to buy beef that is certified organic check
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