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One of the delicacy of Iceland is the Hákarl

Hákarl or kæstur hákarl is a food from Iceland consisting of a Greenland shark or sleeper shark (Somniosus microcephalus) which has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months. Hákarl is an acquired taste; it has a very particular ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste.

There's also an episode of the F Word with Gordon Ramsey and James May giving it a try.

Gordon Ramsey throws up

I don't actually think I'd have the gut to try it but I think it would really be an awesome souvenir to all my friends. So the question is: is it possible to buy it in a store and bring it back in Italy or it needs to be refrigerated? Are there any law regarding import/export of the Hákarl?

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Geeo
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2 Answers2

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As you can see, Hákarl is being stored in vacuum so I don't think that you must use the refrigerator to travel with it:
enter image description here

I couldn't find any stories about restrictions for the Hákarl, if you don't open the cover. :) Please note that it, as you can see, has small expiration time, so you should plan your travel carefully. Also you should check local policies in Italy according the food, especially fish. Can't find any specific information about it, but still I think that there wouldn't be any problems if you don't open it during your travel.

I think that you should visit Iceland during the Þorrablót:

Icelandic midwinter festival, named for the month of Þorri of the historical Icelandic calendar (corresponding to mid January to mid February)

Main feature of this fest is a Þorramatur - meat and fish products cured in a traditional manner, so you can try out some variants and buy the best (ugly?) one.

Good luck with that and hope your friends will be fine, and remain your friends.

VMAtm
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As I explained in a comment:

I was in Iceland last April and I took some of these back to Spain without any problem. Buy it last day in the Bonus supermarket (the cheapest I found) and check your local rules about dry fish import. Anyway, it's an interesting souvenir, specially to see the face of your friends after taste it.

About the dry fish import, it seems there are no restrictions if you bring less than 20 kg of shark:

fish only if it is disembowelled and does not exceed the weight of 20 kg,

Ivan
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