Haggis makers could “tweak” the recipe for the famous Scottish delicacy in a bid to get round a ban on selling it in America, Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary has suggested.
Richard Lochhead is in the US and Canada this week to promote Scottish food and drink.
As part of that he will be raising the issue of America’s import ban on haggis, which has been in place since 1971.
Mr Lochhead, who will be accompanied by James Macsween, the director of haggis maker Macsween of Edinburgh for part of the trip, said if the product could be sold in the US it could help boost Scotland’s economy.
He told the the BBC: “Tens of millions of Americans want to enjoy Scotland’s national dish. Now it may be that we’d have to tweak the recipe for haggis to get into the US market, because some of the ingredients – such as sheep lungs – have been banned since 1971.
“But I think our own producers here in Scotland are up for tweaking the recipe so that US customers can still get as close as possible to the real thing.
“And if we managed to get into that market that would create jobs back here in Scotland and millions of pounds to the Scottish economy.”
Fraser Macgregor, of haggis maker George Cockburn and Son in Dingwall in the Highlands, told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “If it does get overturned it will certainly be an immense opportunity for all the producers in Scotland.”
But he cautioned: “One of the staple ingredients of the haggis is obviously the lambs lungs whether you can find a substitute for that I wouldn’t like to say.”
Mr Macgregor said the inclusion of lambs lungs gave the dish its “rich flavour”.
But he added: “If that is the only criteria to get haggis in we could maybe look at a substitute and see what happens then.”