9 Common U.S. Ingredients That Are Illegal in Other Countries

SYNTHETIC HORMONES (RBGH AND RBST)

The thought of hormones being used in our food is unsettling enough—then, couple that with the fact that they’re being injected into dairy cows to increase milk production. ‘This practice has been linked to increases in cancer risk and is banned in European nation and Canada to protect citizen from IGF-1 hazards including breast, prostate and colon cancer,’ explains Savage; it’s also one of the toxic things that can end up on your kid’s plate.

Whether or not it should be banned in the U.S. is an easy question for dietitians and food safety experts to answer: ‘YES. rBGH and other hormones cause cows to produce more milk, but also stimulates the increase of IGF-1, a growth hormone in the cows,’ Savage says.

‘Humans drink this milk, and the IGF-1 is not readily destroyed but rather absorbed into the bloodstream where it can affect other hormones and potentially lead to cancer.’ A safer bet would be to choose organic, hormone and antibiotic-free milk.