Smoked salmon looks “raw” largely because it is raw. It has never been heated.

Smoking the fish does indeed give a very different flavour to non-smoked fillet. That shouldn’t be any great surprise.

Why is it safe? Well good quality raw salmon is also safe (see sushi). But the smoking does have an effect of preserving the fish and making it less of an environment where bacteria would thrive.

Why do you want to create a user there? I imagine it will reopen eventually, but you are likely much better off creating a user elsewhere.