Regarding haggis?

[Mr._Steak]

Does anyone here know for sure why animal lung is deemed unfit for human consumption in the USA? Know there's a company in Texas that makes haggis sans lung meat.

I'm curious and not trying to initiate a culture war here!

 

[CiCi]

I didn't know it was considered unfit. It might just be a cultural thing but I really don't know.

 

[Mr._Steak]

From what I've been able to find out online, the sale of lung meat is banned for human consumption by the USDA. Seems it's ok to sell it for dog treats though. Here's a quote from the Wagger's pet food company website: "Beef lung provides healthy proteins to a dog's diet. It is a completely safe, organ meat. Beef lung is also leaner and cleaner then other organ meats, including liver."

 

[TATTRAT]

I am not sure either. As with most offal, I am sure there can be some inherent risks to eating it, but I would thing that the long simmering and steaming time would ward off an evil do'ers in the food...Hrm, now I am wondering.

And BTW, Haggis is not to bad after a few pints

 

[auntdot]

Lung used to be available when I was a kid. Why it is now banned I have no clue.

I would like to know because we love haggis. I know it sounds dreadful but we tried it a number of years ago in Edinburgh, after a wee dram for courage, and found it darn good.

We go back to Scotland every couple of years and always lunch on the stuff.

We introduced my fil (may he rest in peace) to haggis, after a wee dram or courage, and he requested we get some more the next day.

It is quite good and I doubt anyone would object to it if they did not know the fixings before they ate it.

As far as the faux haggis made in the US, we consider it essentially inedible. Liver is substituted for lung and it has a very unpleasant taste to us, and we are liver lovers.

The amount of liver they put in haggis in haggisland is perfect - you really don't taste it. Adding extra to make up for the absence of lung just does not work in our opinion.

 

[Mr._Steak]

The price of the USA-made frozen haggis is fifty bucks plus shipping so thanks for the warning, Auntdot.

 

[Aurora]

Here is one reason why you should avoid beef lung:

Calories in Beef Lungs

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Beef, variety meats and by-products, lungs, raw


The cholesterol content of lung is through the roof!

 

[TATTRAT]

so is a hot dog, but they are not banned. In comparison, a hot dog is just as bad, if not worse.

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for OSCAR MAYER, Wieners (beef franks) [frankfurter, hot dog, hotdog, wiener]

 

[Michael in FtW]

Does anyone here know for sure why animal lung is deemed unfit for human consumption in the USA? Know there's a company in Texas that makes haggis sans lung meat.

I'm curious and not trying to initiate a culture war here!

Let's just say the USDA doesn't know which end is up? Social anthropologists have known for years that cannibalism (one species eating it's own species) causes a form of Spongiform Encephalopathy. You take beef parts and feed them to cattle and you get Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Wow - big suprise there!

Now, some equally enlightened scientists(?) at Texas A&M have supposedly discovered a piece of brain tissue in the lung of a cow - supposedly due to the method of slaughter. Read about it here.

Ah ... I miss those mornings around the table with grandpa ... waiting for nanny to finish up a platter of scrambled eggs, beef brains, country pork sausage, milk gravy, and buttermilk biscuits.

 

[buckytom]

i haven't been able to find a direct link about banning, but the reason lungs are dangerous for consumption by humans is the risk of getting tuberculosis from infected meat. i don't know if the same bacterium can affect dogs, but i would imagine it does as humans are able to contract it from cows and sheep lungs.

tb is extremely contagious, so i would imagine the u.s. is being overly careful by just banning the lot.

you wouldn't even need to eat infected lungs to contract tb. just butchering an infected animal could release the bacteria into the air, and whammo.

 

[auntdot]

Mr. Steak you are welcome. I cannot say definitely the stuff from TX is not very good, but we go to a lot of Scottish festivals/games and have tried every haggis we could find. Have never found anyone that we could tolerate. We are not looking for the McCoy, sigh, just something that tastes OK.

Fifty bucks seems a bit dear, but would be willing to pay it (at least for Burns' night) if we could get a taste first.

Have tried to find out why we can feed lung to Snowball and Fido but cannot ingest it ourselves. Have had no luck.

I'm sure it is not the cholesterol content, TATTRAT's point well taken.

My wild guess it is some sort of bacterial thing.

But I am going to find out. And I will get back to you. This may take a while and we'll have to resurrrect this thread from where ever old threads go but will find out.

Take care.

 

[auntdot]

Point well taken Michael.

BSE is one form of spongioform encephalitis, in sheep it is called scrapie.

And it is a concern. We cannot donate blood here because we spent too much time in the UK during the outbreak. If I MOO here ever so often, please forgive the tic.

But the prions that cause BSE reside in nerve, the reason that one could not get beef with the bone in the UK for several years.

If one was going to ban a meat from the lamb that carried the BSE, OK scrapie, one would ban lamb chops, not the bloody lung.

I tend to go with the TB theory, but do not know. And have tried to find out why.

But will try to find the answer.

Take care.

 

[buckytom]

aunt dot, to use a brooklyn-ism, what am i, busted plumbing?

it's bt's tb theory.

the most interesting stuff i've found tonight was an old n.y. times article about how poorer people in the late 1800's, early 1900's had terrible outbreaks of tuberculosis, to the point that cities had planned to tear down entire sections of buildings to try to eradicate it. during these "inquisitions", it was discovered that improperly cooked infected lungs could spread the disease.

i don't know about you, but tb causes sores in the lymph nodes and lungs, so, ya gotta be pretty poor to eat purulent meat.

or from scotland.

(lol about the censor program, hence the use of dollar signs. somewhat ironic, in this discussion. all puss is not created equally, i guess)

 

[CiCi]

Lung used to be available when I was a kid. Why it is now banned I have no clue.

I would like to know because we love haggis. I know it sounds dreadful but we tried it a number of years ago in Edinburgh, after a wee dram for courage, and found it darn good.

Some of the most dreadful sounding food tends to be some of the best tasting. And I agree, haggis is darn good.

 

[GotGarlic]

so is a hot dog, but they are not banned. In comparison, a hot dog is just as bad, if not worse.

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for OSCAR MAYER, Wieners (beef franks) [frankfurter, hot dog, hotdog, wiener]

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but according to that site, 1 serving of beef lung contains 273 mg of cholesterol (91% of the daily value), while 1 hot dog serving contains 25 mg of cholesterol (8% of the daily value). That's a pretty big difference.

 

[Mr._Steak]

Interesting theories in this thread. It doesn't make sense why lung meat is processed in the USA for pet food though if there would be a reasonable chance it would be infected. I'll do more research on this as well.

Auntdot, forgot to mention there's also a canned haggis available from the same Texas company for only 8 bucks!! <insert green face here>

 

[GB]

It doesn't make sense why lung meat is processed in the USA for pet food though if there would be a reasonable chance it would be infected.

Not that I have any answers, cause I don't, but things are often not suitable for human consumption, but fine for animals.

 

[Mr._Steak]

Here's the law of the land (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations):


TITLE 9--ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS

CHAPTER III--FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE

PART 310_POST-MORTEM INSPECTION--Table of Contents

Sec. 310.16 Disposition of lungs.

(a) Livestock lungs shall not be saved for use as human food.

(b) Lungs found to be affected with disease or pathology and lungs
found to be adulterated with chemical or biological residue shall be
condemned and identified as ``U.S. Inspected and Condemned.'' Condemned
lungs may not be saved for pet food or other nonhuman food purposes.
They shall be maintained under inspectional control and disposed of in
accordance with Sec. Sec. 314.1 and 314.3 of this subchapter.

(c) Lungs not condemned under paragraph (b) of this section may be
used in the preparation of pet food or for other nonhuman food purposes
at the official establishment, provided they are handled in the manner
prescribed in Sec. 318.12 of this subchapter, or they may be
distributed from the establishment in commerce, or otherwise, in
accordance with the conditions prescribed in Sec. 325.8 of this
subchapter for nonhuman food purposes or they may be so distributed to
pharmaceutical manufacturers for pharmaceutical use in accordance with
Sec. Sec. 314.9 and 325.19(b) of this subchapter, if they are labeled
as ``Inedible [SPECIES] Lungs--for Pharmaceutical Use Only.'' Otherwise,
they shall be disposed of at the official establishment, in accordance
with Sec. Sec. 314.1 and 314.3 of this subchapter.

[36 FR 11639, June 17, 1971]

Notice the date is 1971 but I'm not familiar enough with the CFR to know if 1971 is the original date of the regulation. Is there a lawyer in the house?!?

I still haven't found out exactly why lungs were and are deemed unsafe for human cuisine in this country though!!