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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My friend Dave got into the bottled water biz in the 1980s in Hamilton, Ontario, providing those 5-gallon jugs for water dispensers at home and offices. I never was into that stuff, but the 5-gallon plastic carboys that people haul to the grocery store for a refill are excellent secondary fermentation vessels for home beer production.

But, for those who work in an office, the water cooler is, I’m told, the place for gossip, flirting and bacteria.

The Sunday Herald reports that tests for watchdog organization, Consumer Focus Scotland, found potentially dangerous bacteria in drinking water dispensers in workplaces, schools and care homes. The group says the dispensers need to be better cleaned and maintained, and that the Scottish government, along with the Food Standards Agency, should review existing legislation because it is difficult to enforce.

Environmental health officers found bacterial contamination in 23 out of 87 water dispensers sampled in Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders. They tested for five types of bacteria known to cause illness, particularly in people who are vulnerable due to frailty or ill-health.

Water from bottle-supplied coolers was the most contaminated, with 14 out of 35 samples containing bacteria. Eight samples showed the presence of coliform bacteria, usually associated with faeces, and three contained staphylococcus aureus, which can cause serious illnesses.

Nine of the 52 samples from plumbed-in coolers taking water from the mains were also found to be contaminated, sometimes by more than one type of bacteria.

The contamination is thought to be due to the poor hygiene habits of some drinkers. Unwashed hands, putting mouths to taps and refilling dirty bottles could all be to blame.

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“In November 1996, over 400 fell ill and 21 -- largely pensioners who had attended a church supper -- were eventually killed in Scotland from infection with E. coli O157:H7.

Health authorities quickly linked the outbreak to cooked meat sold by family butchers John Barr & Son in Wishaw, who had been in business for 28 years and in September was awarded the title of Scottish Butcher of the Year. … It was concluded by investigators that the contamination occurred probably because knives used to separate raw product were also being used to open packages of cooked product.”

Professor Hugh Pennington was called in to handle a public inquiry.

Then another E. coli O157 outbreak struck, this time in Wales in 2005, killing a five-year-old and sickening some 150 schoolchildren. Another public inquiry was held earlier this year, chaired again by Prof. Pennington.

Then another outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in Scotland killed one and sickened seven in Aug. 2007, again in cold cuts, and again Prof. Pennington said there was no excuse for allowing contaminated cold meat to be sold.

Yesterday, Prof Pennington told the Sunday Mail that a Scottish hospital taking three days to report three cases of E. coli O157 to the local public team was unacceptable, adding,

"I'd only find a delay of hours acceptable. Finding the source must be done quickly, especially after what happened in Wishaw years ago."

Maybe one day the good prof will awaken from this repeating nightmare.

 

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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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