Casu marzu
What’s the controversy?
Casu marzu, meaning “rotten cheese” in the Sardinian dialect, is just that.
The sheep’s milk cheese is fermented by cheese fly maggots (Piophila casei) until it starts to rot.
Lovers of casu marzu consider it a delicacy and eat the cheese with live maggots inside, placing a hand over the cheese so the bugs do not jump out.
If the larvae are swallowed intact, cheese-lovers risk intestinal damage from the maggots’ pincers.
Banned: In the USA
Although a black market in the cheese existed when it was temporarily banned in the EU, it can once again be sold legally due to a European decree promoting traditional produce.
The cheese is firmly banned in the US, however, since live insects contravene the Food and Drug Administration’s “filth standard”.