Almost all countries have their own set of strange laws. But, in the case of food laws, some go beyond the normal level of weirdness to reach new pinnacles of craziness. Here are some of the strangest food laws on the globe.
No Ketchup Please!
France and America have been opposed to each other for decades. But France chose to take it to the next level by prohibiting ketchup from all their schools.
No Picture of Gelato
Don’t you think it would be an Instagram-worthy photo to be posing with an ice cream cone in front of a gorgeous church or any public building in Florence? Well, unfortunately you won’t be able to do it if you don’t want to break one of the most important Florence’s laws.
Mandatory Coffee
Many of us need a good morning cup of coffee, but in this case it is really taking things to the extreme. For a while, in fact, Turkish law allowed a wife to divorce her husband, if he didn’t keep the family’s ibrik (Turkish coffee pot) full.
Ban on Chocolate
Chocolate has a legendary reputation as an aphrodisiac. So much so that once upon a time the nuns were forbidden to eat it.
Chocolate Obligation
There would have been a law in Idaho that prohibited any man from giving his sweetheart a box of candy that weighed less than 50 pounds (22 kg). However, the law has never been enforced, and some question its very existence.
Forbidden Fruit
In the early American settlements, the Puritans avoided growing tomatoes. Not surprisingly, because many even in Europe thought at the time that they were (and were cultivated only for decorative purposes). However, historians believe that it has something to do with the name, which in French at the time was “pomme d’amour” (which today indicates caramelized apples), and this “provocative” name would have further pushed to avoid using the plant.
Fish Matters
In the state of Minnesota, the law prohibits a man from having sex with a live fish. But this prohibition would not affect women.
Ban on Garlic
In the city of Alexandria, Mississippi, it is illegal for a man to make love to his wife if her breath smells like garlic, onions, or sardines in his breath. If she asks him to brush his teeth, he is legally obliged to do so. Although the idea is appreciable and understandable, it is curious that it was necessary to make a law.
Be Careful of Brussels Sprouts
It’s a little more awkward than those childhood arguments where we were not supposed to leave the dinner table before finishing our Brussels sprouts. In Belgium, it’s totally legal to toss Brussels sprouts at tourists.
Non-Alcoholic Weddings
In Mississippi, the licensor of marriage may refuse to grant it if he has reason to believe that the person asking (both or even one) is drunk. Which is not entirely wrong, although it must be said that the license does not involve the obligation to contract marriage.
Refrigerator Departments
There must be something fascinating about the refrigerated departments of Newcastle, Wyoming, as it served to make a law to ban couples from having sex in the refrigerated departments of grocery stores.
No to Spicy
In 1973, red pepper sauce and similar spices were prohibited from flavoring food in Peruvian prisons. The reason was that the Minister of the Interior had issued a circular suggesting that they were dangerous aphrodisiacs that would arouse dangerous sexual desires in prisoners.
Have you ever been to a county that had weird food laws? Or do you know any other strange rules not mentioned above? We want to hear from you; remember to leave a comment below!