Swedish surströmming

I ate the world’s smelliest food — it took three showers to get rid of the stench

“That is by far the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tried in my life.”

Yahoo LifeBen Cost

It's possible that some cans are bad or spoiled. This guy doesn't think it's quite safe to eat.

Bait for hunting or trapping or fishing.

So there's a particular cannery that produces this stuff commercially as food intended for human consumption. It is or was normally a traditional culture of fermentation that might have gone off, as wine or beer is sometimes infected by corkage or rotgut.

There's something a little bit too commercial and canned about this seafood product to be properly traditional. I'm down on it if it isn't prepared traditionally from beginning to end without commercial canning.

In fact I'm sure I've had some but not the commercial canned variety. Fermented brined herring is stored in traditional crocks. No stink, no gag. We're not going for world's smelliest food for serious here. It had better be traditionally prepared and delicious, make a sandwich with it, enjoy alongside fine caviar and similar delicacies, or shut that filthy cannery down if it isn't up to par for fine dining.

There's "gravlax" or "gravad lax" of various types, too, some more fermented than others.