The Hungarian Government has banned the use of paprika across the country. Apparently some imports were affected with alfatoxin and these have been blended into the local supply, making all of it unsafe. You may not understand the importance of this for the US or the UK could survive a ban on a spice no problem. A Hungarian’s relationship to paprika is rather more intense. They have twenty to thirty different variations of the things, just as Mexicans have so many different variations of chilis (paprika and chili are close cousins, paprika often producing a slightly sweeter taste). Paprika is not just that mildish hot red powder you buy in a spice jar; there are varieties as hot as jalapenos and habanero chilis. It is used in a great deal more than the beef stew which we call goulash (in Hungarian, “goulash” actually means “soup”, sorry, forgotten the Hungarian for that beef stew). Sit down for lunch or dinner and you will inevitable be offered soup, and there will be dried paprika on the table for you to crumble into it to your taste. In fact, it is even served at breakfast (the Hungarians have a delightful habit of having two breakfasts. One very small and simple upon rising, something more substantial a couple of hours later…this habit may be dying out now but it was still there last time I went, 12 years ago) in a dish called “Hamneggs”. Yes, even though Hungarian is a terribly different language I think you can guess what goes into that. Metal or pyrex dishes are placed in an oven till hot, then taken out, two eggs cracked into it and over that pieces of ham or bacon. The eggs cook on the way to the table and depending upon how quickly you eat you get runny or hard. The finishing touch is of course a sprinkle of paprika over it.
I think you can imagine the effect on a country of the banning of the vital ingredient for the national cuisine. If you have any friends in Hungary you might want to think about getting to the supermarket. buying some and posting it to them (you can do this from inside the EU, no problem) in a small scale “Paprika Aid” perhaps. The cultural devastation would be akin to the UK banning fat or the Italians pasta.
Something Must Be Done!!