Senior aides to President Barack Obama will be urged to let traditional Scottish haggis back into America by ending a decades-old import ban. The consumption of sheep lung, a key ingredient of haggis alongside heart and liver, has been banned in the US since 1971 and all British lamb has been banned since 1989 following the BSE crisis. Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, will ask his US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack to drop the ban during a meeting in the US today, and open up a market potentially worth millions to Scottish producers. Haggis is not allowed to be eaten in America but Environment Secretary Owen Patterson hopes a ban in place since 1971 can be lifted
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America has banned sheep lung imports since 1971 and all British lamb since 1989 since BSE crisis
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Haggis market is  worth approximately £15m-a-year in the UK
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Environment Secretary Owen Patterson meeting US agriculture secretary to ask for ban to be dropped as part of EU-US trade deal
‘I am meeting my @placeholder counterpart today to discuss how we can begin exporting it, particularly as so many Americans enjoy celebrating their Scottish heritage.