Haggis

  • If it’s not Scottish, it’s crap; Burns Supper and haggis

    Posted: January 25th, 2011 - 4:39am by Doug Powell

    In time for tonight’s annual Burns Supper honoring the birth of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, government types have once again invited U.S. regulators to revise a decades-old ban on haggis.

    The iconic Scottish dish is been barred in the U.S. because its food safety department prohibits the use of sheep lungs in food products.
     

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    Wacky and Weird  |  1 Comment
    burns, food safety, haggis, Mike Myers, Scotland
  • If it’s not Scottish, it’s crap, so US planning to relax haggis ban; haggis nachos on the way?

    Posted: January 24th, 2010 - 1:02pm by Doug Powell

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    Doug Powell

    BBC News reports the U.S. government is planning to relax the ban on imported meats which prevents the sale of haggis, introduced in 1989 because of concerns about the safety of British meat during the BSE or mad cow disease debacle. Haggis contains offal ingredients such as sheep lungs.

    Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said,

    "I am greatly encouraged to hear that the US authorities are planning a review of the unfair ban on haggis imports. We are in regular contact with the industry on this issue and believe that reversing the ban would deliver a vote of confidence in Scottish producers, and allow American consumers to sample our world renowned national dish. It's time for the US authorities to deliver a Burns Night (Jan. 25) boost and recognise that Scottish haggis is outstanding quality produce."

    Jo MacSween, co-director of Macsween Haggis, said it would come as good news to expats and tourists, and that sales of haggis were no longer confined to the Burns Night season in January -- the company has also diversified into products such as haggis nachos.
     

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    Food Safety Culture  |  0 Comments
    BSE, haggis, Scotland, trade ban, US
  • If it's not Scottish, it's craaaaapp

    Posted: January 20th, 2008 - 7:28pm by Doug Powell

    After 19 years, the Scottish government is bent on asking the United States to overturn its ban on Scotland's traditional and national dish called 'haggis.'

    The U.S. implemented a ban on haggis from Scotland in 1989 amidst the bovine spongiform encephalopathy [mad cow] scare because the dish contains offal ingredients such as sheep lungs. Sheep can suffer from scrapie, which is in the same family of diseases as BSE.

    A Scottish government spokesperson told BBC News,

    "The market is massive because there are so many expat Scots there and once Americans try a good quality haggis, they can't get enough of it."

    A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said,

    "We do not allow importation because of the U.K.'s BSE status. Sheep are susceptible to TSE's and thus the U.S. takes precautions on importing those ruminants from BSE-affected countries."

    A spokesman for Britain's Food Standards Agency said,

    "We see no reason at all why people cannot eat haggis safely, so long as manufacturers follow hygiene legislation."

    The story says that haggis is traditionally served with tatties and neeps (potatoes and turnips). It usually contains a sheep's lungs, liver and heart minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt mixed with stock. It is then boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours.


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    Norovirus  |  1 Comment
    haggis, Observation, Scotland, Scrapie