10 Foods Sold in the U.S. That Are Banned Elsewhere

All that being perfectly fine here, but you can't have raw milk or products like cheese made from it. That's too dangerous and those reckless Europeans don't restrict it at all.

I blame this situation largely on the lobbyist factor we have here, and the political campaign support that goes along with it.
While I'm not sure there is a Papaya lobby, the rest of that list has a well funded lobbying campaign making sure their profits are not threatened over something as trivial as endangering the health of the consumers.
Politicians are so easily bought and paid for in this country.
Look at the efforts to require labeling of GMO foods and the resistance of lawmakers to require it.
At the same time there's many new drugs being used extensively in other countries to successfully treat debilitating illnesses that we can't have here because the FDA won't approve them. Things like cancer are big business and make too much money using less effective treatments.

When it comes to a choice between profits for big corporations and our health, we'll lose most every time.