Give US haggis with our neeps and tatties

The Scottish Rural Affairs Department is currently locked in a dispute with the United States over the ban on haggis exports.

Richard Lochhead, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, has issued an invitation to relevant US delegates to visit Scotland, stating that they would be able to “see for themselves the high standards we have in animal health and processing”.

In addition to this, Mr Lochhead stated to The Journal: “I've had further constructive discussions during my recent visit to Washington on how we can have the import ban on our national dish lifted.

"We want to capitalise on the diaspora of Scots in the US and many of them would enjoy the opportunity to indulge in authentic Scottish haggis to accompany their neeps and tatties on Burns Night.

“That's why I'm continuing the campaign for our producers to gain access to this potentially lucrative market which could be worth millions of pounds to the Scottish economy.”

The US has had a ban on haggis for the past 22 years because the dish contains sheep lungs, which in the States is not considered fit for human consumption.

Haggis imports are also banned on the grounds that they contain British offal, a law that came into effect in 1989 at the height of the BSE outbreak.

Rumours began to circulate in January 2010 that the US was planning to relax this ban, and many haggis producers and fans expressed hopes that the Scottish delicacy would finally be available in America.

However, the reports were later revealed to have been exaggerated as an email from the US Department of Agriculture stated that the ban was under review, but that a firm closing date had not been decided.

The BSE-related ban has now been relaxed, but sheep lungs, an integral part of haggis, remain illegal in North America.

Macsween, one of a number of Edinburgh-based haggis producers, spoke about how important a lift of the ban could be.

The director, Jo Macsween, said: "In our experience, American visitors love our haggis when they taste it while in Scotland and it would be lovely if they could not only be permitted to take some home with them at the end of their stay here, but purchase it in America too.”