The European Commission’s smoked salmon stiffening duration rule lost to processors via Mowi Poland on October 14, 2025, at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The CJEU ruled that the Commission did not back its claim with enough science to warrant a stiffening limit of 96 hours.

Stiffening is a freezing method for firming up salmon before slicing, with ample timing critical for large-scale processing. 

According to the litigation, limiting the duration to only 96 hours could have led to major constraints in logistics and sales.

This marks the first major breakthrough by producers since the European parliament relaxed a seed marketing rule in March 2024 after uproar.

Food Safety vs. Processors

The score for the producers undermines the European Union (EU)’s premise to prevent food contamination by Listeria monocytogenes.

Some think it could also encourage Mowi’s competitors to grow lax in their preservation methods, further endangering consumer food safety.

Ironically, fish stiffening apparently discourages contamination by lowering temperatures to -4ºC or maximum -14ºC, per the EU’s Regulation 2024/1141.

Upon arrival at factories, processors smoke the filleted salmon, then keep it at the refrigerated temperature for tens of hours to ease slicing. Some 300 million such slices reach European households daily.

On their part, food safety advocates argue that extending artificial temperatures on fresh products makes them less fresh. 

Scientific evidence therefore does not seem to indicate stiffening violates food safety in the fish industry. But how is the industry itself? The following stats take the fight down to the smoked salmon processors industry in Europe. 

Europe Smoked Salmon Industry Statistics 

Europe leads the world’s smoked salmon market with a 44.72% share, as of 2024, according to the Fortune Business Insights. Insuring this lion’s share is high consumption at 139,384 tonnes (2022), per the European Market Observatory for Fisheries & Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA). Indeed, households in Europe partake of some 300 million slices of salmon products each night. Some of the products come from such industry players as Mowi of Poland and Austevoll Seafood ASA. 

Scandinavia is the capital of salmon sourcing within Europe while Western Europe the consumption center. Norway leads fresh market supplies while Denmark and Poland head the smoked category with a 60% share. Much of the smoked portion by Poland and Denmark are re-exports from Norway, which ships 0.5 million tonnes to both countries annually. Poland led smoked salmon output in Europe in 2022 at 77,158 tonnes.

Which European nations eat the most smoked salmon?

• France

In 2022, France consumed 28% of Europe’s smoked salmon supplies, per the EUMOFA. France harvests 22,650 tonnes of salmon, the third highest on the continent. It imports the bulk for processing, with home processing making up 71% of domestic smoked salmon sales.

• Germany and Italy

Germany consumed 18% of Europe’s smoked salmon in 2022, while Italy 16%.