Science and cooking collide to fight botulism

A bearded seal, or ugruk, on sea ice. (Courtesy of Kawerak Subsistence Program)
Food scientists with the help of a botulism expert are trying to combine science and traditional Alaska Native methods to make one prohibited food safe to eat.
Regulated programs under the State of Alaska Food Safety and Sanitation Program are not allowed to accept or distribute seal oil due to the danger of botulism, a potentially fatal disease which is caused by bacteria in contaminated food.
But how or when the ne