‘Disgusting’ museum a trial for the senses

Anyone visiting Sweden’s latest museum would be well-advised to bring nose plugs, unless the smell of rotten shark, the reek of fermented herring or the pungency of Thai Durian fruit stirs your passions. Following the success of the Museum of Failure in Helsingborg, southern Sweden, the Disgusting Food Museum is being rolled out in Malmo this month. Dr. Samuel West, the American behind both exhibitions, said his new venture will gather 80 of the world’s most off-putting foods in a fun, interesting and interactive display. “You can taste, smell and in certain cases even touch the food,” he said. Visitors will be given a tour of each continent’s most malodorous offerings, including rotting shark from Iceland, maggot cheese from Sardinia and roasted guinea pig from Peru. “The rotten shark from Iceland is absolutely horrid,” West said. “We (also) have the world’s stinkiest cheese, proven by a British university. It’s hardcore science.” The offbeat display opens on Oct. 31 and runs until the end of January.