5 Foods Not Allowed in the US

If you grew up in Scotland and were hoping you'd still be able to enjoy haggis now that you live in the US ... you're out of luck. The Scottish favorite—a sheep stomach stuffed with sheep heart, liver, and lung meat mixed with spices, onions, and oats—can't be imported into the US. The FDA banned it and all products containing lung meat in 1971 since the meat can contain stomach acid and phlegm. That's just one item on Listverse's list of 10 foods you can't buy in the US because the FDA and the Consumer Products Safety Commission have deemed them dangerous—even though they're still allowed in many other countries. Four more:

1. Raw milk: Milk sold in much of the US must be pasteurized in order to reduce the risk of harmful bacteria like salmonella or listeria being consumed. Raw milk sales are entirely prohibited in 20 states and the District of Columbia, and are heavily regulated in most of the other states.

2. Ackee fruit: This fruit grown in West Africa and Jamaica is banned and cannot be imported into the US ... because if you eat an unripe fruit, you can get Jamaican vomiting sickness, which causes uncontrollable vomiting and could even lead to seizures or death. It happens due to a nonproteinogenic amino acid that lowers blood sugar and can thus lead to hypoglycemia, and dozens die of the illness per year.
3. Sassafras oil: The sassafras plant grows in the US, but its oil has been banned from use in commercially mass-produced foods since 1960 because it contains safrole, which has been shown to be carcinogenic. (Safrole is also one of the main ingredients in ecstasy.) Before the ban, sassafras oil was used in root beer.
4. Kinder Eggs: Though you can find a modified version in the US, you won't find the original version of this candy, also called Kinder Surprise, which is popular in Europe. The hollow egg-shaped chocolates have small toys inside and the US banned them after determining the toys could pose a health and safety risk to children under age 3. The fine for bringing one of the banned versions into the US is $2,500 per egg.

Click for the complete list. (More food stories.)