The governor of Massachusetts has “legalised” haggis in the state, as the state continues to welcome Scotland and the team’s fans to its capital city of Boston.
The beloved Scottish dish hasn’t really been legalised, rather the governor, Maura Healy, jokingly signed an executive order alongside Scottish podcaster and Tartan Army fan David McIntosh Jr. on Wednesday.
Haggis has been illegal in the U.S. since the 1970s, due to federal food regulations relating to the consumption of offal — specifically sheep lung, which constitutes up to 15% of the traditional haggis recipe.
But simplified versions of haggis is often sold in the U.S., usually chicken liver and ground lamb. Haggis is a staple of Scottish cooking and is traditionally served with “neeps and tatties” (swedes and potatoes), along with a dram of whisky on Burns Night — which celebrates Scotland’s 18th century national poet, Robert Burns.
In a video posted on social media, McIntosh Jr., wearing a Scotland national team shirt, is sitting with Governor Healy and asks her: “Governor, what have we just signed?”
Healy then says: “We’ve made haggis legal in Massachusetts.”
However, individual states in the U.S. cannot override federal food safety and import rules, so it’s unlikely that haggis will actually be on sale anytime soon anywhere in the country.
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Scotland fans have been enjoying themselves in Boston, where they embarked on a parade to Fenway Park — home of the Boston Red Sox — and played the bagpipes all along the way. Thousands of fans have made the journey across the pond to cheer on John McGinn, Scott McTominay and co.
And while Tartan Army fans may not be able to enjoy haggis legally in the U.S. right now, they have plenty to celebrate and look forward to — they currently sit atop the table of Group C in the World Cup, following their 1-0 win over Haiti and are preparing for a showdown with Morocco on Friday as the team seeks to make it to the knockout rounds of the competition for the first time in their history.
