Similar, though not the same, in background as to why herring and licorice are banned in the USA. When a young country and barely able to wrestle independence,

Similar, though not the same, in background as to why herring and licorice are banned in the USA. When a young country and barely able to wrestle independence, it was feared the British would team up with Scandinavian forces (a large portion of immigrants to North Americas were Scandinavian) while being worn thin by also battling Napoleon. By banning traditional foods such as herring, licorice and even black pudding and haggis, any potential pre-invasion force of saboteurs and partisans would complain about only having hamburgers and bad pizza to eat and thus be discovered.