What's So 'Offal' About Haggis And Why's It Banned In The U.S.?

For less adventurous eaters, the delicacy is often best enjoyed blind, at least until you develop a taste for it. "I ate it in Scotland in middle school and loved it. I thought it was meatloaf," explains Cristy Daly, of Cumming, Georgia. "When I found out what it was, I equated it to a hot dog so I could continue eating it."

Michelle Brownlee, of Spring Hill, Tennessee, was less enamored. "It was like someone married creamy oatmeal and meatloaf," she says. "The texture is all kinds of wrong."

Advertisement

Love it or loathe it, haggis isn't likely to become a stateside staple anytime soon, as the authentic version has been banned from import in the U.S. since 1971. This is because the U.S. Department of Agriculture decreed that livestock lungs cannot be used as food for humans because they can contain stomach fluid, which is a serious foodborne illness risk. (You can buy haggis in the U.S., albeit one made without the all-important sheep's lungs.)

Still, some Americans with Scottish roots attempt to make or buy lungless haggis every year in recognition of Burns Night (January 25). The event is widely celebrated in Scotland, and is named in honor of beloved Scottish poet Robert Burns who penned "Address to a Haggis," following a 1786 supper in Edinburgh, Brown says. In the poem, he refers to haggis as "the Great chieftain o' the pudding-race." "After the poem, the pudding is slashed open, and the supper begins," Brown says. "For a Burns Supper it is served with mashed potatoes and turnip. Along with drams of whisky."

The Scottish fondness for this delicacy has not faded with time. "Haggis is massively important to the Scottish culture. It is one of the most popular words used on the internet when people are looking to visit Scotland — almost as popular as the whisky industry," Callaghan says. It's so appreciated that it's eaten throughout the year, not just on Burns Night, he notes.

Advertisement