These 16 US foods are banned in Europe, and we’ve never been more grateful to be European
Admittedly, when it comes to national cuisines, we in the UK don’t have the best reputation for our eating habits. We understand that jellied eels, mushy peas and haggis may not be to everyone’s taste, but at least they’re relatively safe.
The same can’t be said for the stuff they eat over the Pond, however, and Twitter user Daractenus has posted a wonderful thread which highlights just some of the food and drink which is deemed perfectly fine for American mouths but is illegal to sell in Europe and the UK (well, at least for now).
It’s informative and grimly hilarious.
Bon appetit!
1.
In an attempt to possibly explain why 77 million Americans voted for this man, while simultaneously explaining just why it is that Europeans live substantially longer, I’m absolutely delighted to introduce the revised list of US food that you cannot legally sell in Europe!🧵 pic.twitter.com/q5xVmJScaM
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
2.
US Bread
Traditionally baked with just enough potassium bromate to make it fluffy and sufficient sugar to make the diabetes get to you before the cancer from the bromate does, US bread is legally sold as "cake" in the few EU countries that still allow for it to be sold. pic.twitter.com/v6Ewoegl7D
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
3.
US Instant Mashed Potatoes
Stuffed with enough BHA and BHT preservatives to give the product an expiration date of absolutely never, most of Europe has outright banned the product, depriving Europeans from what is otherwise a cheap and convenient way to encourage hair loss. pic.twitter.com/NfYsCWAW5p
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
4.
US Pop-Tarts
Very much an American classic which can double as a chemical weapon should you ever be in need, US Pop-Tarts have more than sufficient trans fats in them to make the carcinogenic dyes in it rather pointless, making for yet another EU banned delicious breakfast. pic.twitter.com/PFUiW1rD4k
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
5.
US Milk
The newest obsession of the US Secretary of Pestilence, US milk cannot legally be sold in the EU due to US farmers being known on occasion to spike the food of their cows with a mix of hormones, in a bid to squeeze out a few extra drops of milk and profit off them. pic.twitter.com/l7DOiOPDlH
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
6.
US Farm Raised Salmon
With just enough cheap industrially synthetized astaxanthin in them to make their flesh go a cheerful pink instead of their rather boring natural gray when farm raised, US salmon cannot legally be sold in several EU countries, Australia or New Zealand. pic.twitter.com/g3E4zOXQXa
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
7.
US Pork
Because American pigs are often fed large amounts of ractopamine, a drug that does wonders in increasing muscle growth in pigs and cancer in humans, the EU has deemed the product unsafe and banned it, seemingly without much concern for the profits of US oligarchs. pic.twitter.com/23lnbUTK3E
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
8.
US Skittles
Banned throughout the EU in its original US form on grounds of containing titanium dioxide and synthetic dyes which may or may not be linked to DNA damage, Skittles had to come up with an entirely different titanium free recipe to access the European market. pic.twitter.com/lNY3VQdbCv
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
9.
US Chicken Meat
The American habit of bathing chicken meat in chlorine, a very safe and cheap practice legal in the US, led most of Europe to ban US chicken meat, much to the annoyance of Europeans looking for something to help them gain admission into Charles Xavier's academy. pic.twitter.com/WyZY2NwcxO
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
10.
US Frozen Dinners
Containing a totally safe chemical also widely used to bleach plastic, the wide variety of US frozen dinners have been deemed as unsafe for human and animal consumption in the EU, a widely unpopular move among Europeans looking for a quick way to get cancer. pic.twitter.com/obozxXWxTd
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026
11.
US Chocolate Milk
Following several studies that have found the product to really help in never seeing what life beyond 50 looks like, or at least not remembering it for long given it seems to also cause Alzheimer's, the EU banned this otherwise delicious US product. pic.twitter.com/6VtWU6uYH2
— Daractenus (@Daractenus) February 21, 2026