At the end of the 1940s, surströmming producers in Sweden lobbied for a royal ordinance that would prevent incompletely fermented fish from being sold.
The decree that was issued forbade sales of the current year's production in Sweden prior to the third Thursday in August.
While the ordinance is no longer on the books, retailers still maintain the date for the "premiere" of that year's catch.
In April 2006, several major airlines (such as Air France, British Airways, Finnair, and KLM) banned the fish, claiming that the pressurized cans of fish are potentially explosive.
The sale of the fish was subsequently discontinued in Stockholm's international airport.