Blood sausage is not illegal in the United States. It is legally produced, sold, and eaten across the country. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has specific labeling standards for blood sausage, which means it’s a recognized, regulated product in the American food system. The confusion likely comes from restrictions on importing certain blood sausage products from abroad, particularly British black pudding.
What Federal Law Actually Says
The USDA doesn’t ban blood sausage. It defines and regulates it. According to the USDA’s Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book, blood sausage is “a cooked sausage formulated with blood and some meat,” usually containing pork skins or pork jowls, and sometimes sweet pickled ham fat, snouts, and lips. The agency even distinguishes between varieties: Berliner blood sausage must contain diced bacon and be dried and smoked after cooking, while blood and tongue sausage adds cured pork or beef tongues to the standard recipe.
There’s one notable labeling rule. If a blood sausage product contains no meat at all, only blood and fat, it must be labeled “Blood Pudding” rather than “Blood Sausage.” The USDA also regulates how curing agents are calculated in these products, treating blood as part of the total meat block. All of this points to a product the government actively oversees, not one it prohibits.
You can find blood sausage at specialty butcher shops, European delis, Latin American grocery stores, and some farmers’ markets. Morcilla (the Spanish and Latin American version), boudin noir (French), and various Eastern European styles are all made and sold by American producers operating under USDA inspection.
Why People Think It’s Banned
The myth likely stems from two real but narrower restrictions. The first involves importing blood sausage from overseas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection restricts many animal-based meat products from entering the country, particularly from Europe and the UK. Puddings made with suet or animal fat from the United Kingdom or Europe are not allowed entry. British black pudding, one of the world’s most famous blood sausages, falls squarely into this category. Travelers who’ve had their black pudding confiscated at the airport may have assumed the product itself was illegal, when really the issue was the import, not the ingredient.
The second factor is the history of mad cow disease. Starting in the late 1990s, the USDA imposed strict import restrictions on ruminant products from countries where bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) had been detected. A 1997 rule restricted importation of live ruminants and certain meat products, including animal byproducts, from affected countries. The disease was first identified in Great Britain in 1986, and over the following decade, the list of restricted countries grew as new cases appeared in places like the Netherlands. Blood-based products from cattle in BSE-affected regions were caught up in these broader restrictions, reinforcing the impression that blood sausage itself was the problem.
The Import Rules vs. Domestic Production
The distinction is straightforward: making blood sausage in the U.S. from domestically sourced animal blood is legal. Bringing blood sausage into the country from certain foreign sources is restricted. These are food safety and disease prevention measures, not a judgment on blood as a food ingredient. American slaughterhouses that operate under USDA inspection can collect and sell animal blood for use in food products, provided they meet the standard hygiene and handling requirements that apply to all meat processing.
This is similar to how many European cheeses made from raw milk are restricted at import due to aging requirements, while American cheesemakers can produce raw milk cheeses domestically under the same FDA rules. The restriction targets the supply chain and disease risk, not the food itself.
Where to Find Blood Sausage in the U.S.
Blood sausage has a quiet but steady presence in American food culture, especially in communities with strong ties to cuisines where it’s a staple. Latin American neighborhoods often carry morcilla, which typically combines pork blood with rice, onions, and spices. German and Polish delis stock blutwurst and kiszka. French-inspired charcuterie shops sometimes offer boudin noir. In Louisiana, boudin rouge (red boudin) is a regional specialty with deep Cajun roots, though it’s less common than its rice-based cousin boudin blanc.
Online specialty retailers also ship blood sausage within the U.S., and some higher-end restaurants feature it on charcuterie boards or as a component in dishes. The ingredient is niche but entirely accessible if you know where to look.
Why Blood Sausage Sounds More Unusual Than It Is
Blood has been used in cooking for thousands of years across nearly every meat-eating culture on Earth. Scandinavian blood pancakes, Filipino dinuguan, Korean sundae, and Italian sanguinaccio all use animal blood as a primary ingredient. In the context of sausage-making, blood serves as both a binding agent and a flavor component, giving the sausage its characteristic dark color and rich, mineral taste.
American squeamishness about blood sausage is more cultural than legal. The same USDA that inspects your ground beef also inspects blood sausage production. If you’re curious about trying it, your only real barrier is finding a shop that stocks it.