Foods That Are Illegal Somewhere
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Foods That Are Illegal Somewhere — Daily trivia Friday, July 24, 2026: questions and answers
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Q 01Which US state has banned producing and selling foie gras since 2012?
- ATexas
- BFlorida
- CNew York
- DCalifornia
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California
California's law took effect on 1 July 2012, banning both the force-feeding of birds to enlarge their livers and the in-state sale of the resulting product. Legal challenges ran for years, but the ban was ultimately upheld.
Q 02What is the name of the Japanese poisonous fish that is illegal to serve without special certification?
- AHirame
- BFugu
- CHamachi
- DUnagi
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Fugu
Fugu (pufferfish) contains tetrodotoxin, a deadly poison. In Japan, only chefs with specific licenses after rigorous training can legally prepare and serve fugu, as improper preparation can be fatal.
Q 03Caviar imports from which threatened Caspian sturgeon did US regulators suspend in 2005?
- ABeluga
- BOsetra
- CSterlet
- DSevruga
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Beluga
The US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the species as threatened in 2004, then suspended imports from the Caspian states on 30 September 2005 and the Black Sea states a month later. The US had consumed roughly 60 percent of world exports.
Q 04A New Jersey plant strips a narcotic from South American leaves and sells the extract to a soft-drink maker. Which drug?
- ACocaine
- BCaffeine
- CAmphetamine
- DMescaline
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Cocaine
Coca-Cola's syrup uses a coca leaf extract prepared at a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey — the only US business the DEA licenses to import coca leaves, roughly 100 metric tons a year. The cocaine is separated out and sold to Mallinckrodt for medicinal use, and the cocaine-free extract goes into the drink. Coke does contain caffeine, but caffeine is neither removed nor banned.
Q 05Which soup ingredient did Hawaii become the first US state to outlaw in 2010?
- AWhale meat
- BSea turtle eggs
- CShark fins
- DSongbirds
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Shark fins
Governor Linda Lingle signed the bill in May 2010 and it took effect on 1 July 2011, with fines rising to $50,000 for repeat offences. Roughly a dozen other states and several Pacific island nations went on to pass versions of it.
Q 06Which Sardinian sheep's-milk cheese has Italy banned from commercial sale since 1962?
- AFiore Sardo
- BCasu marzu
- CCaciocavallo
- DPecorino Sardo
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Casu marzu
The cheese is ripened by cheese flies whose live larvae are still wriggling in it when it is eaten, which puts it foul of rules against food infested with parasites. It is still made in Sardinia and traded informally between families.
Q 07Which country banned the import and sale of chewing gum in 1992 after wads jammed its new metro train doors?
- ASingapore
- BJapan
- CNorway
- DUnited Arab Emirates
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Singapore
The sales ban took effect in January 1992. Chewing gum itself was never outlawed — importing and selling it was. Since 2004 therapeutic, dental and nicotine gums may be sold by a doctor or registered pharmacist.
Q 08In which country are Kinder Surprise eggs illegal under a 1938 law on inedible objects sealed in confectionery?
- ACanada
- BAustralia
- CUnited States
- DIreland
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United States
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 predates the product by decades, but its rule on non-nutritive objects embedded in candy keeps the original Kinder Surprise off American shelves; customs seize thousands each year.
Q 09Which organ in traditional haggis has kept it barred from the United States since 1971?
- ALiver
- BLung
- CKidney
- DHeart
Show answer
Lung
In 1971 the U.S. Department of Agriculture ruled that livestock lungs could not be saved for human food. The rule names no dish, but it makes the authentic recipe — which uses sheep lung alongside liver and heart — impossible to import.
Q 10The 1960 US ban on safrole stopped root beer makers using the oil of which tree?
- AWintergreen
- BSarsaparilla
- CBlack birch
- DSassafras
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Sassafras
Safrole, the compound that gave root beer its original taste, was shown to cause liver tumours in rodents. After the 1960 ban, producers switched to artificial flavourings or safrole-free extracts. Sarsaparilla, a common guess, is a vine rather than a tree.
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