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There are many items that are sold normally in their own country but are prohibited from being sold in other countries. The reasons for this are many and varied, some of which leave me scratching my head as to why they are banned. This time, we have picked up 15 food items that are prohibited from being brought into, sold, or manufactured in the United States. When traveling or studying abroad, I want to check so that I don’t accidentally bring it in and stop it at the airport customs duty.
1. Horse meat
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Strictly speaking, it is not illegal to eat horse meat in the United States, but it is illegal to slaughter horses for food, so there are almost no opportunities to eat horse meat. Horse meat is seen as a “food taboo”. For Americans, whose culture of cowboys has taken root and whose pioneering history has been made with horses, eating a horse is like eating a pet. By the way, China has the largest market for horse meat. In Japan, horse meat is also called cherry blossom meat, and although it is not often served on the dining table of ordinary households, it is sometimes on the menu at restaurants.
2. Fugu
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It is not prohibited to eat puffer fish, but it is difficult to eat in the United States because it is a prohibited ingredient except for some licensed vendors. It’s easy to guess why. Fugu has a deadly central nervous system poison in its body, and the toxin is said to have a higher fatality rate than potassium cyanide. High-end restaurants in New York and other big cities serve pufferfish imported from Japan, but these pufferfish are exported from Japan after the poisonous internal organs have been removed and flash-frozen.
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