Are there foods that astronauts are explicitly never allowed to eat?

Question

Is any substance strictly forbidden for astronauts in space, because it may dehydrate, cause intestinal problems or other ailments/threats to systems if improperly handled? Anything someone may ingest is valid for an answer- drinks included. (Asking because @uhoh linked to articles about chili peppers in space (comments 1, 2).)

Imagine if something like that dispersed into the water system by accident!

Chris Hadfield has a video that touches on why they use tortillas instead of sliced bread. (Spoiler: crumbs are dangerous in null-G. They might get in people's eyes.) Not sure if it's expressly forbidden, or if the people who plan meals are just conscientious about it, though. — Ghedipunk, Jul 19 '19 at 22:13
@ghedipunk Haha I probably could say the same about chili powder in 0 g. It would suck to essentially have pepper spray circulating around. Do you have a link to thay video — Magic Octopus Urn, Jul 19 '19 at 22:15
I imagine NASA wouldn't be too happy with illegal 'foods' like psychedelic mushrooms either. — Dragongeek, Jul 20 '19 at 09:40
@Uwe Ice cream (proper ice cream, too) has been sent to the ISS. I don't have the reference to hand right now, but IIRC it was because there was a refrigerated (or maybe just cold and well-insulated) container being sent up and there was space left. Rather than let it go to waste, it was packed with ice cream. Presumably the improved crew morale (and any other considerations - maybe it stopped the content of the chilled container shifting around during flight?) was considered more valuable than the extra cost from the increased payload weight. — Richard Ward, Jul 22 '19 at 12:34
Pork and beans were probably forbidden by other crew members!! — RonJohn, Jul 22 '19 at 16:18

Organic Marble · Accepted Answer · 2019-07-21T00:22:33.453

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At least in the Shuttle program, I'm afraid the list of forbidden foods was almost infinitely long. Anything not officially tested and approved was forbidden.

From the Space Shuttle Food System Summary (only covers the first 25 flights) here's the menu you got to choose from. Don't worry, it's only a couple of weeks at most.

From eating this stuff in simulations, I can attest that it's all at least bearable, although I was never quite brave enough to tackle the dehydrated Broccoli au Gratin.

These are the beverages allowed in the first 25 Space Shuttle flights.

edited Jul 21 '19 at 00:22

answered Jul 19 '19 at 23:43

Organic Marble

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Shrimp Cocktail was one of the better items. – Organic Marble Jul 20 '19 at 12:37
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But "not officially tested" is not the same as forbidden. I imagine that if an astronaut really wanted say alligator tails, s/he could persuade NASA to test them. – jamesqf Jul 20 '19 at 16:53
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I'm surprised by a couple of items... shortbread cookies for one... I would have thought it would be a no-no because of crumbs. Also surprised that milk is not on the list because it can be preserved in a form that offers long shelf life without refrigeration (nothing new). – Anthony X Jul 20 '19 at 17:44
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”Shrimp Cocktail was one of the better items" did they serve astronaut food at KSP cafeteria? ;-). (Half joking, half curious as a cat) – Diego Sánchez Jul 20 '19 at 19:34
@DiegoSánchez: Well, Buzz Aldrin also apparently liked it, so Organic Marble's in good company there. (Also, I see someone's been playing Kerbal Space Program... ;)) – Vikki Jul 20 '19 at 21:14
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@sean. Oh, crap! I meant KSC cafeteria. Good catch, thanks. (And yes, literally typing while mechjeb took care of a launch) – Diego Sánchez Jul 20 '19 at 23:38
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Cornflakes are marked as rehydratable, and milk isn't on the list. Does that mean you would inject water into a bag of cornflakes? – Robyn Jul 22 '19 at 07:42
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@Robyn they were packaged with dried milk, so yes. – Organic Marble Jul 22 '19 at 12:11
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I had to look up "Apple Cider" (Apple cider is the name used in the United States and parts of Canada for an unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples.) because in France this is an alcoholic beverage which would have been surprising. – WoJ Jul 22 '19 at 14:14
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No water as a beverage? oh dear... – Weckar E. Jul 22 '19 at 14:50
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@WeckarE. I would assume water is available by default, so they didn't bother to list it separately. In fact, since much of the food starts off dehydrated, having a source of potable water is pretty much required. – Darrel Hoffman Jul 22 '19 at 15:00
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@WoJ Apple Cider is often alcoholic in the US as well (typically referred to as "Hard Apple Cider" or just "Hard Cider" in that case). Also, some people will buy the non-alcoholic variety and allow it to ferment before drinking. (Probably not a great idea on land, let alone in space, but that doesn't stop people.) – Darrel Hoffman Jul 22 '19 at 16:29
Hot and chilled water was available. – Organic Marble Jul 22 '19 at 16:48
I don't remember where I heard/read it and I can't find it again, but cooking in zero-G and a different atmosphere (pressure and gasses) is different than on Earth. It's so different that benign practices can be fairly catastrophic in space. I remember one phrase being something along the lines of "the ingredients and practices used in cooking in space are so foreign that you never think of using them in any normal kitchen". – computercarguy Jul 22 '19 at 18:15
@computercarguy at least on the Shuttle you could hardly call anything they did cooking. It was mostly heating stuff up in the oven, or rehydrating it with hot or cold water. – Organic Marble Jul 22 '19 at 18:16
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@OrganicMarble, I may be remembering something said about the IIS. What I barely remember is from many years ago, so I don't have the context anymore. It may have been from Chris Hadfield series of "Chris's Kitchen" videos, as mentiond here: https://www.space.com/20343-astronaut-space-cooking-videos.html The shuttle crew did try some cooking, but yes, most of it is just re-hydrating previously prepared foods. – computercarguy Jul 22 '19 at 18:33

score 41 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 21 '19 at 00:48

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There are in fact many foods astronauts are not allowed to eat. I'll be specifically talking about the ISS as they are the only ones currently in space.

Bread: Astronauts are not allowed to eat bread because their crumbs can go into machine and equipment, and into astronauts' eyes.

Alcohol: Russians were allowed to drink small quantities of alcohol (such as on the Mir) but NASA has prohibited this on the ISS; for obvious reasons. You don't want a drunk person in a confined pressurized vehicle 400 km above the Earth. Also because alcohol affects muscle protein synthesis (and muscles get even weaker in micro gravity) and similar to soda, many alcoholic beverages are carbonated and can cause discomfort and eructation (burps).

Salt and Pepper: Again similar to bread, salt and pepper can go into their eyes and damage equipment. Salt and Pepper are served on the ISS by being dissolved into liquids. However salt and pepper in their raw form are not allowed on the ISS.

Soda: Here on earth, the Carbon Dioxide bubbles will just pop and turn into gas, however in micro gravity, the bubbles remain in the liquid and this can cause digestive tract problems such as discomfort and fetid burps.

Food on the ISS has to follow these six categories:

Compact
Lightweight
Nutritious,
Tasty (although their sense of taste is reduced in micro gravity)
Sticky or wet (to avoid crumbs or loose parts getting into equipment)
Processed and pasteurized because food has to remain edible for the length of the entire mission

Because of this, many perishable foods and drinks such as fresh milk and hydrated vegetables are not allowed on space missions. If a food can follow these 6 categories, it is allowed in space (ISS specifically). If it doesn't follow even one of these categories, then it's not allowed in space.

Sources:

edited Jul 21 '19 at 00:48

peterh

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answered Jul 19 '19 at 22:24

Star Man

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Russians are allowed to drink small quantities of alcohol -- any sources? – Jul 19 '19 at 22:37
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I should've been clear in my answer. My apologies. They are not allowed to drink on the ISS anymore but they were allowed before. – Star Man Jul 19 '19 at 22:40
The status of bread on the ISS is slowly evolving; see Why was there a miniature bread on the ISS? and Scott Manley's video https://youtu.be/SYA8aHY6yzk?t=29 – uhoh Jul 19 '19 at 23:33
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The part about salt and pepper is incorrect, it is allowed and flown. It's just dissolved in oil and provided in small bottles. (see the link in my answer) Soda was flown at least twice: https://space.stackexchange.com/a/10352/6944 – Organic Marble Jul 19 '19 at 23:46
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Welcome to Space! You are correct that sodas are currently banned, and that astronauts have had problems ingesting gas, but the Space Shuttle once had Coke and Pepsi dispensers. Also, liquid salt and pepper are allowed. – DrSheldon Jul 19 '19 at 23:53
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@OrganicMarble Yes that's true however salt and pepper in their raw form are not allowed. – Star Man Jul 19 '19 at 23:55
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It seems @OrganicMarble and I had the same reaction, but he answered first. – DrSheldon Jul 19 '19 at 23:58
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@OrganicMarble Yes it's true that they sent carbonated drinks up in space but I stated in my answer that I'll be talking specifically about the ISS. It's not allowed on the ISS. Although it is neat that they had coke dispensers in space :) – Star Man Jul 20 '19 at 00:06
Thanks @DrSheldon! I thought about looking for a picture of the salt and pepper, completely forgot about that post. – Organic Marble Jul 20 '19 at 00:16
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https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/56a8cb44dd08950d0d8b4776-750-497.jpg – Star Man Jul 20 '19 at 00:19
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"Russians are allowed to drink small quantities of alcohol"? There is problem. Never Russian drink small quantity alcohol. – Quora Feans Jul 20 '19 at 08:20
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Alcohol is not carbonated. Some alcoholic beverages are - beer, champagne, &c - but many others are not. And it's perfectly possible to drink reasonable quantities - say a glass (or squeeze bottle, in space) of wine with a meal - without becoming intoxicated. – jamesqf Jul 20 '19 at 16:56
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@jamesqf Small amounts of alcohol can still negatively impact muscles, especially in micro gravity. So even if you do drink a tiny amount, it's not really worth the risk, so NASA banned it. – Star Man Jul 20 '19 at 17:53
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From what I've read, Russian pre-ISS alcohol consumption in space was frequently in more than "small quantities"... – Vikki Jul 20 '19 at 21:16
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@MichaelHarvey Over Soviet Russia, alcohol drinks you! Or did the space stations qualify as sovereign territory? I've never been quite up on all those rules and rgulations. – Cort Ammon Jul 21 '19 at 17:37
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On the matter of bread - Heston Blumenthal included a bacon sandwich with some other food that astronaut Tim Peake was allowed to take as his "special personal food allowance" - news article - but NASA took quite a bit of convincing on this and a couple of other items... – HorusKol Jul 22 '19 at 07:49
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@jamesqf, soviet rations had alcohol in form of cognac (not really cognac, because it wasn't french, but made using similar technology). – user28434 Jul 23 '19 at 15:09

Are there foods that astronauts are explicitly never allowed to eat?

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