That's stinky herring we're talking about, a Swedish specialty called surströmming although some of the contestants may have had a distinct aroma after the contest held last week at Malmo, Sweden's Museum of Disgusting Food.
The winner, a local retiree, managed to get down 392.7 grams, or nearly two cans, in the one-minute contest. A runner-up ate 325.9 grams, and some disqualified losers were said to have spit out more than they put in. The winner, 71-year-old Sune Valentin Norlin, told reporters “You’ve just got to swallow it.”
The stinky herring seems a surprising choice, since many of the 20 competitors had never eaten it before, and some of the others said it had been years since they had eaten it. Surströmming is sold in cans filled with herring filets and just enough salt to keep them from rotting. It's fermented in the cans for at least six months.
Meanwhile, the museum has its eye on other disgusting but publicity-generating contests; a spokesperson, Andreas Ahrens, suggested that perhaps the infamously stinky durian fruit might be next.
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