Traditional haggis is banned in the United States because it contains sheep’s lung, and a federal regulation has prohibited livestock lungs in human food since 1971. The rule sits at 9 CFR 310.16 and doesn’t mention haggis or Scotland by name. It simply says livestock lungs cannot be saved for human consumption, which knocks out the authentic recipe whether the haggis is shipped from Edinburgh or made in a Brooklyn butcher shop.1eCFR. 9 CFR 310.16 – Disposition of Lungs
The Rule That Does the Work
The regulation is one sentence: “Livestock lungs shall not be saved for use as human food.” Published on June 17, 1971, it covers lungs from every livestock species processed under federal inspection. Cattle, pigs, goats, sheep: none of their lungs can legally end up in food sold to people in the United States. Lungs that pass inspection can still go to pet food or to pharmaceutical manufacturers, but they have to be labeled “Inedible [Species] Lungs.”2eCFR. 9 CFR 310.16 – Disposition of Lungs
Traditional haggis uses about 15 percent sheep lung alongside heart, liver, oatmeal, suet, and spices, encased in a sheep’s stomach.3The Guardian. Scotland’s Largest Haggis Maker Creating New Recipe to Meet US Rules Take out the lung and you’ve removed a defining ingredient.
Why USDA Banned Lungs
The reasoning traces to studies conducted around 1969. Scientists examining otherwise healthy livestock lungs kept finding contaminants in the airways: fungal spores, dust, pollen, and aspirated rumen contents, meaning partially digested stomach material that enters the lungs during slaughter. The animals showed no disease. It was the airway contamination alone that led USDA to conclude lungs were unfit for human consumption, and the agency amended the regulations two years later.1eCFR. 9 CFR 310.16 – Disposition of Lungs
Critics note that food processing has changed since 1969 and that the United Kingdom and much of the European Union allow lung in food products without documented public health problems. Proponents of the rule argue that the aspiration risk is inherent to the organ’s anatomy and can’t be fully removed by processing.
What You Can Actually Buy Here
The ban targets the ingredient, not the dish. Any haggis recipe that leaves out lung is legal to produce and sell in the United States. Domestic imitations have long substituted extra heart, liver, or other offal for the missing lung. Scotland’s largest haggis producer, Macsween of Edinburgh, has been developing a reformulated recipe that replaces sheep lung with sheep heart to comply with U.S. rules. As of early 2025 the company was testing the product with the goal of a Burns Night launch in January 2026, which would be the first time a major Scottish haggis maker has sold into the American market in more than 50 years.3The Guardian. Scotland’s Largest Haggis Maker Creating New Recipe to Meet US Rules
Bringing It Back From Scotland
Federal law includes a personal-use exemption for imported meat: up to 50 pounds purchased abroad for your own consumption is exempt from commercial import requirements.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 620 – Imports That exemption does not override 9 CFR 310.16. Lung-containing haggis is illegal no matter how it enters the country or who it’s for.
USDA also restricts travelers from bringing back meat from countries affected by certain livestock diseases, including foot-and-mouth disease and BSE, so even a lung-free product requires checking the UK’s current disease status before you pack it.5Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. International Traveler: Meats, Poultry, and Seafood Undeclared agricultural products carry a $300 civil penalty for a first offense and $500 for a second.6U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Prohibited and Restricted Items
The Separate UK Lamb Import History
Until recently, a second barrier stood alongside the lung rule. The United States banned British lamb imports in 1989 over concerns about scrapie, a neurodegenerative disease affecting sheep and goats. In December 2021, USDA amended its small ruminant rule, clearing UK lamb and mutton for the American market for the first time in more than 30 years. British sheep meat can now be imported, provided the establishments are FSIS-certified and the products meet the disease-related requirements in 9 CFR 94.11.7Food Safety and Inspection Service. United Kingdom The lung regulation stayed put. Lifting the lamb ban opened the door for lung-free Scottish haggis, not for the traditional version.
Efforts to Change the Rule
British officials have lobbied U.S. counterparts on the lung rule since at least 2014. In January 2023, a physician filed a formal petition with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service asking that 9 CFR 310.16(a) be amended to remove the prohibition on lungs for human food. The petition drew supportive comments but hasn’t produced a rule change. Amending the regulation would require a new risk assessment, a public comment period, and formal rulemaking, a process that typically takes years. For now, the 1971 rule stands exactly as written, and traditional haggis with sheep’s lung remains illegal in the United States.1eCFR. 9 CFR 310.16 – Disposition of Lungs