15 (Mostly) Normal Foods That Are Banned in Countries Around the World

Could you live without ketchup, chewing gum, or delightfully stinky French cheese? Depending on where you live, you might not have a choice.

An infographic created by Magnet, a kitchen retailer in the UK, reveals 15 foods that have been banned around the world. Most of the items have been banned due to health concerns, but there are a few surprises on the list.

France, for instance, practically outlawed mayonnaise and ketchup in schools in an effort to uphold its culinary traditions, which apparently don’t include drowning a hot dog in sugary tomato syrup. “We have to ensure children become familiar with French recipes so that they can hand them down to the following generation,” Christophe Hebert of the National Association of Directors of Collective Restaurants said at the time of the ban in 2011. One day a week, though, students are permitted to eat their frites with ketchup.

Russia’s ban on foreign cheese and meat imports in 2017 was primarily political, but cheesemakers in the country weren’t complaining about the boost in business they received soon after. Singapore’s 1992 crackdown on chewing gum, meanwhile, was enacted in an effort to make the streets less sticky. Indeed, Singapore consistently ranks among the world’s cleanest cities.

The U.S. forbids several items from being sold, including haggis, black pudding, and ackee fruit—the latter of which can induce "Jamaican Vomiting Sickness" if it's eaten before it's ripe.

Scroll down to learn more about the rationale behind 15 banned foods around the world.