Will the USA finally accept foreign haggis?
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson will be making a renewed attempt to convince America to lift its haggis ban.
The US has imposed a ban on imported haggis since 1971, but Americans might soon be able to enjoy the traditional Scottish dish at home. It's all thanks to Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, who is planning to put pressure on his US counterpart Tom Vilsack to end the ban.
The dish is banned in the US because of legislation that prohibits sheep lungs being sold in food products. With the haggis market worth £15 million in the UK alone, producers must be following the saga with keen interest – several attempts to convince the US to embrace the offal-based dish have failed in the past.
In 1989, all UK exports of beef and lamb to the US were banned following the BSE crisis. In 2013, the US finally re-opened its doors to these exports again, but sheep lung has stayed off the menu.
US citizens can get hold of lung-free haggis (sourced from US-raised sheep), but it’s been described as ‘offal’ by some.
What else has been banned abroad?
France took the unusual step of banning ketchup in primary schools in 2011, except for once a week when it can be served with French fries. It said at the time that this was to be “an example to the world in the quality of its food, starting with its children.”
Following an inspection by officials earlier this year, Marmite, Irn-Bru and Ovaltine were among items barred from sale in a specialist British imports shop in Canada as they contained ‘illegal additives’. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency told the BBC that particular versions of the products intended for sale in Britain didn’t meet Canadian food standards.
You can’t get hold of Kinder Eggs in the US, because they contain “non-nutritive objects” – the toys hidden within – which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say poses a choking hazard.
The US also had a ban on imported pork cold cuts like salami and pancetta since 1963, and this was only lifted 50 years later, in June 2013. It was originally banned after two contagious diseases were detected in the meats.
What’s banned here?
Jelly sweets which are served in ‘mini-cups’ were banned by the EU for posing a potential choking hazard due to the thickening agent konjac jelly (E425). They’re very popular in Japan and the Far East.
We still won’t import fruits like cranberries, bilberries, or allow wild (uncultivated) mushrooms from various countries including Russia and Switzerland into the UK because of the Chernobyl incident.
Stevia used to be banned here. It’s a sugar substitute that was banned within the EU until 2011, but it’s now widely available and is an ingredient in many products like fizzy drinks and chocolate.
Should the US overturn its ban on haggis? Let us know in the Comments below.
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