The world is full of foods created by different cultures and taste buds. However, some delicacies can either be fatal or conceal an ethical cost. Well, it’s safe to say that even foods have their fair share of controversies. If you’re an adventurous kind of person or maybe just a foodie, then you’ll love trying some of these 12 foods that are considered controversial. Remember to eat at your own risk.
12. Ackee Fruit
Considered as Jamaica’s national fruit, the ackee holds a dangerous secret. If you consume them before they’re properly ripe, then you’ll encounter a poison called hypoglycin A. It causes severe vomiting, liver damage, or worse, death. Remember that the fruit is only safe to eat when its protective pod naturally splits open. Because of the risk, it’s illegal to import fresh ackee in the United States.
11. Century Eggs
Don’t be fooled by the name, as century eggs don’t take 100 years to make. It’s a Chinese delicacy that features duck, chicken, or quail eggs preserved with clay, ash, salt, quicklime, and rice hulls. They leave the eggs for several weeks to months until the yolk turns dark green or black. The white must be a translucent amber-colored jelly. Its controversy surrounds the myth involving the usage of horse urine to preserve them, but it’s completely untrue.
10. Kinder Surprise
Imagine an innocent chocolate egg being banned in an entire country. That’s Kinder Surprise in the United States. There’s a law from 1938 banning any food that contains a “non-nutritive object embedded,” which made the iconic chocolate a choking hazard. With that, the U.S. has to settle for the Kinder Joy, which separates the toy from the treat.
9. Balut
Speaking of eggs, there’s a common street food in the Philippines. It’s called balut, which features a fertilized duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell. The embryo is typically incubated for 14 to 21 days, resulting in a partially developed duckling inside. It has raised ethical concerns among animal welfare groups due to the presence of a duckling inside.
8. Shark Fin Soup
Shark fin soup is a food at the center of a global conservation debate. While it’s a symbol of wealth because of its price tag, the practice of shark finning has raised many eyebrows. Why? Shark’s fins are cut off, while the rest of what’s left of them are thrown back to the ocean to die. This resulted in a decline in the shark population. As a result, the trade of shark fins is now banned in many countries, such as the US and the UK.
7. Casu Marzu
Casu marzu is not for the faint of heart. It even translates to ‘rotten cheese,’ as it’s a sheep’s milk cheese infested with live insect larvae. It digests the fats in the cheese to create a soft and creamy texture. The cheese is meant to be eaten with the live maggots inside, but due to health concerns, they’ve been banned by the European Union. They’re also illegal to sell in Italy, but they’re still produced and consumed locally.
6. Foie Gras
It’s a French delicacy which translates to “fatty liver.” It’s made out of the liver of a duck or goose that’s been force-fed corn by a tube. The process is called gavage, which causes the liver to swell to a larger size than it normally is. Animal rights groups have condemned the practice as cruel, which has led to the ban on production and sale in several countries and cities.
5. Pufferfish
The Japanese pufferfish is a highly toxic food as it contains a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin. It’s 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide! In Japan, only the highly trained and licensed chefs can prepare pufferfish. The emperor is prohibited from consuming it due to safety concerns. But despite the fish being known as poisonous, people continue to consume them, leading to fatal cases each year.
4. Ortolan Bunting
The ortolan is a French culinary tradition wherein an ortolan bird is captured. They keep it in a dark box to disorient it and force-feed it with grains to fatten. Once it has reached its desired size, it’s drowned in Armagnac and roasted to be eaten whole. Diners even cover their heads with a large napkin to hide the shameful act. Thankfully, the practice is now illegal in France and the European Union. However, black markets still continue to sell the dish.
3. Bushmeat
Bushmeat refers to the meat of wild animals. Yup, it includes primates, reptiles, and large mammals as they’re a vital source of protein in some cultures. However, trade and consumption have been linked to the spread of zoonotic diseases like Ebola and HIV. Its hunting is also a threat to biodiversity as the act has driven many species to extinction.
2. Raw Milk
Yup, raw milk is unpasteurized milk that hides bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. It causes serious and life-threatening illnesses, which led to the ban on its sale in many countries and in 20 U.S. states. But there’s a growing movement of people who believe that it’s a healthier and a natural alternative to pasteurized milk.
1. Controversial Food Additives
Not all controversial foods are exotic delicacies, but common ingredients found in the everyday products we consume. For instance, additives like brominated vegetable oil (BVO), potassium bromate, and artificial food dyes are banned in some countries as they’re linked with cancer, neurological problems, and other health issues. What makes them controversial is that they’re still permitted in some countries.