Tag: Refined salt

According to independent laboratory testing, a significant percentage of salt products contain detectable levels of heavy metals, including arsenic and lead. This surprising reality prompts a closer look into how a common pantry staple can become a source of toxic elements and what that means for your health.

Harvested from pristine ocean waters, Kirkland Signature Sea Salt is explicitly labeled by Costco as an unrefined, all-natural ocean salt. This clear labeling suggests a minimal processing method, but it's important to understand what 'unrefined' truly means in the salt industry.

Over 80% of the Polish population may have a magnesium deficiency, highlighting the importance of dietary sources. Yet, despite its origins from seawater, the refining process for table salt strips it of most natural minerals, including magnesium.

Most people assume the familiar white granules in their salt shaker are pure sodium chloride, but commercial table salt is typically 97–99% sodium chloride, not 100%. The remaining percentage includes added compounds and trace minerals that influence its texture, function, and nutritional value.

According to a 2018 study, refined Korean salt contains very low levels of iodine (0.033 ± 0.05 μg/100g), whereas coarse solar sea salt naturally possesses significant amounts (434 ± 73.6 μg/100g). This critical distinction helps explain the varied iodine levels in different Korean salt varieties.

Over 10% of the world's population lacks access to iodised salt, making iodine deficiency a global health concern. While both are sources of sodium, iodised salt and rock salt are not the same and serve distinct purposes in both health and cooking.

In India, where salt is a cornerstone of cuisine and tradition, its purity and source are matters of keen interest. The term 'purest' can be interpreted in several ways, from being chemically pristine to being minimally processed and naturally sourced.

Unlike many raw, natural salts, typical table salts like Morton's are heavily processed, heated, and bleached. This extensive process is critical for understanding the answer to the question: Is Morton sea salt unrefined?

Refined table salt is processed to be nearly pure sodium chloride, but unrefined salt retains up to 84 naturally-occurring trace minerals, resulting in distinct visual and textural characteristics. This mineral variation is the key to identifying less-processed varieties in your pantry.

Chemically, both common salt and table salt are primarily composed of sodium chloride (NaCl). However, the key distinctions lie in their processing, additives, and texture, revealing that while they share a core chemical identity, they are not always identical products.