900,000 Liters of Abandoned Fish Sauce Prompt Cleanup—and a Chemistry Lesson

In St. Mary’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, 900,000 liters of fish sauce sit in 110 vats at a defunct plant, triggering a $2 million cleanup to remove the sludge and seal it in a lined landfill. The piece blends local history with science, as a food chemist explains how salt and gut enzymes drive umami and preservation, while long-term fermentation could produce rancid aromas and new compounds over years—making the stinky saga both hazardous and oddly intriguing.