haggis, anyone?

i had never heard of haggis, a scottish food delicacy, until today. one reason, perhaps, for my lack of knowledge is that the united states has banned its importation for the past 21 years.

no longer.

the united states department of agriculture (my former employer for one brief summer) has lifted this ban because they have now determined that haggis does not in fact pose any signficant health risk. the initial ban was set in place in an apparent overreaction to the mad cow disease histeria of the late 1980's-early 1990's.

while the ingredients of haggis [sheep's "pluck" (=heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock] may not sound very appetizing to many people, i am now curious to give it a taste.

[aside: having lived in europe during the mad cow disease time period, i have been told by the red cross and other non-profit or government entities that i cannot give blood in america because of the potential exposure to meat i may have had during this period of my life. i now wonder if this assessment of the danger of my blood is another silly overreaction by american authorities. thoughts??]

UPDATE: perhaps my sources were a little premature....

per an email to andrew sullivan's blog:

Recently, several news articles have incorrectly stated that the U.S. will be relaxing or lifting its ban on Scottish haggis. At this time, haggis is still banned in the U.S. The APHIS rule covers all ruminant imports, which includes haggis. It is currently being reviewed to incorporate the current risk and latest science related to these regulations. There is no specific time frame for the completion of this review. Please check back with APHIS periodically for updates.