In Fascist Italy under the regime of Benito Mussolini, political dissidents were force-fed large quantities of castor oil by Fascist paramilitary groups. Victims of this treatment would experience severe diarrhea and dehydration, often resulting in death. Sometimes when the blackshirts wished to make sure that the victim would die rather than simply be badly disabled, they would mix gasoline with the castor oil. It is said that Mussolini's power was backed by "the bludgeon and castor oil."

During the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, sausages were associated with the Lupercalia festival. The early Catholic Church outlawed the Lupercalia Festival and made eating sausage a sin. For this reason, the Roman emperor Constantine banned the eating of sausages.

Cochineal and Carmine are deep crimson food dyes that are extracted from the female cochineal insects. It is used in foods such as alcoholic drinks, bakery products and toppings, cookies, desserts, icings, pie fillings, jams, preserves, gelatin desserts, juice beverages, varieties of cheddar cheese and other dairy products, sauces and sweets. Cochineal is also used to color Mcdonalds Strawberry Shakes. The average human consumes one to two drops of carminic acid each year with food. The insects are killed by immersion in hot water (after which they are dried) or by exposure to sunlight, steam, or the heat of an oven. Each method produces a different colour which results in the varied appearance of commercial cochineal. The insects are then dried and ground into a powder.

Multiple trials indicate that taking vinegar with food increases satiety (the feeling of fullness) and so reduces the amount of food consumed. Even a single application of vinegar can lead to reduced food intake for a whole day. Apple cider vinegar is a much more useful astringent than ice and will reduce inflammation, bruising and swelling in approximately a third of the time that ice will take. Application is directly onto the skin with a flannel, and left on for an hour or so.

Raw kiwifruit is rich in the protein-dissolving enzyme actinidin, which is commercially useful as a meat tenderizer but can be an allergen for some individuals. This enzyme makes raw kiwifruit unsuitable for use in desserts containing milk or any other dairy products which are not going to be served within hours, because it soon begins to dissolve milk proteins. This also applies to gelatin based desserts, as well, as the actinidin will dissolve the collagen proteins in gelatin very quickly, either liquifying the dessert, or preventing it from solidifying.