Let’s just say it: America might have some tasty food, but it’s certainly not the healthiest of countries. In fact, some foods are so bad for us that they’ve actually been outlawed in other countries because of the toxicity to human beings!

What could possibly be so bad that there’s a law against eating them? Check out these 9 popular American foods and chemicals that are found in many of our foods that you won’t see in other countries.

1. Farmed Salmon

   Salmon gets a good rep as a health food, but most of the time, they’re talking about wild caught or farm-raised salmon. It’s important to know where your fish came from; farmed salmon ingest grains, antibiotics and other drugs, causing it to have a gray flesh (which is then made pink with more bad chemicals). Yuck.

2. Artificial Food Dyes

   You’ll commonly see this in foods like cereal, baked foods, candy, soda, etc. Sure, the food is bright and colorful, but artificial dyes contain chemicals derived from petroleum, which is used to make gas, diesel and tar. No thank you.

3. Brominated Vegetable Oil

   Be sure you’re checking the ingredients of your sports drinks and citrus sodas—brominated vegetable oil might be lurking in there, which is a toxic chemical linked to severe health issues such as damage to your organ system, birth defects to a future child and even schizophrenia.

4. Olestra

   Fried, greasy foods are already not the best for you, especially if it contains cooking oil substitute Olestra. It’s often found in French fries or fat-free potato chips and can hinder your body’s ability to absorb certain vitamins.

5. BHA & BHT

   These chemicals may help to keep foods like cereal, gum, butter, and more from going rancid, but it’s also been linked to cause cancer in rats. Do you want to take that chance? We thought not.

6. Aresnic

   You’re probably thinking why the heck you’d eat arsenic, but it could be lurking on your chicken. It’s used to make the flesh look more pink, so you want to be careful.

7. Azodicarbonamide

   Most often found in frozen dinners, boxed pastas, various types of bread, and more, azodicarbonamide is a chemical that is also used in foamed plastic. It’s been associated with causing asthma.

8. Potassium Bromate

   In general, limiting carbs is deemed “healthy,” but it gets worse than just the basics: Many times, wraps, rolls, breadcrumbs and other bread products contain potassium bromate, a chemical that can increase your risk of kidney damage, cancer and other conditions. Many times, it’s used to make baking time more efficient and is less expensive for the company.

9. rBGH and rBST

   These synthetic hormones are most commonly found in milk and dairy products and are linked to various types of cancer, including breast, colon and prostate. We have no idea why it’s still allowed in the U.S.!

Do you ever eat any of these foods? Did you know they were banned in other countries?