You’re just trying to enjoy your favorite chips or cookies—and then you find out the ingredients list reads like a science experiment. Turns out, some of your go-to American snacks contain additives that other countries have straight-up banned.
Here are 10 beloved snacks that are totally legal here… but raise red flags overseas.
10. Mountain Dew
The neon green soda that powered your high school years contained brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, that was finally banned in the US only recently. However, it has been banned in Europe and Japan for longer.
9. Skittles
Taste the rainbow… and a splash of titanium dioxide. The EU said no thanks to this whitening agent, while the U.S. said pass the share size.
8. Little Debbie Swiss Rolls
These soft, chocolaty snacks may be nostalgic, but they also come with yellow dye 5 and red dye 40. Both dyes are banned in parts of Europe due to potential links to hyperactivity in kids.
7. Frosted Flakes
They’re grrrreat… if you ignore the BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene). BHT is banned in several countries over cancer concerns but still hanging out in your cereal box here.
6. Pop-Tarts
The filling may be delicious, but it’s also hiding food dyes and BHT. Europe and the U.K. require warning labels or flat-out bans on the same additives found in your toaster breakfast.
5. Cheetos
The bright orange dust is half the fun—and also half the issue. That iconic color comes from yellow 6 and yellow 5, both banned or restricted in other countries for health reasons.
4. Gatorade
It may hydrate you, but it also once came packed with BVO. While Gatorade has phased it out in the U.S., many flavors sold elsewhere never had it in the first place.
3. Doritos
The crunch is addictive, but so are the questionable ingredients like artificial colors. Other countries looked at that electric orange glow and politely declined.
Read More: 15 Foods That Still Contain the Now-Banned Red No. 3 Dye
2. Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
Toaster strudels are basically breakfast candy—and come with dyes and preservatives banned in the EU. They may be flaky, but their ingredient list is anything but.
Read More: 15 Foods That Would Be Illegal in Europe—but Not in the U.S.
1. M&Ms
Melt in your mouth, not in your hand—unless you’re in the EU, where some colors are restricted or require warnings. Those bright shells owe their hues to dyes that Europe would rather not deal with.
Read More: What You Need to Know About the FDA’s Ban on Red Dye No. 3
