What are the levels of heavy metals and microplastics found inside your favorite sea salt and Himalayan salt products? This was the question Mamavation community members asked us and we didn’t know the answer, so we sent 23 popular salt products off to an EPA-certified laboratory to find out. Do you want to know how high the levels of heavy metals & microplastics are in your favorite sea salt or Himalayan salt? You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like the safest butter without toxic PFAS packaging, the safest cookware sans PFAS and nanoparticles, & safest water purifiers to filter PFAS “forever chemicals,” now join us for the results of 23 salt products sent to the lab testing for metals aluminum & arsenic, & heavy metals cadmium, mercury, and lead & microplastics.
Disclosure: Scientific reviews were performed by (1) Terrence Collins, Teresa Heinz Professor of Green Chemistry & Director of the Institute for Green Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University & (2) Pete Myers, Chief Scientist at Environmental Health Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, and Co-Author of Our Stolen Future. This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. Donations were provided by Mamavation community members. Note that Mamavation has only “spot-checked” the industry and thus we cannot make predictions about brands and products that were not tested in our EPA-certified laboratory. Products and manufacturing aides can change without notice so buyer beware. This post contains affiliate links, with most to Amazon, which means Mamavation will receive a portion of those sales and we will use that to pay ourselves back for the testing. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. Thank you!
Table of Contents
Aluminum, Arsenic, Cadmium & Lead Found in Salt Brands
According to the American Heart Association, the average American consumes about 3,400 milligrams per day of salt, whereas the dietary guidelines recommends we consume less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium daily. Americans are getting most of their sodium from processed foods, and therefore, if you are cooking and eating your meals from home in your own kitchen, you can greatly reduce those levels. It’s claimed that “eating less sodium can reduce your risk for high blood pressure, fluid retention, heart disease, stroke, kidney issues, osteoporosis and cancer.” This is why we highly recommend you cook most of your meals from scratch with ingredients that are minimally processed. But what about the quality of salt you are using? Some metals that are known or suspected toxicants & microplastics are already known to be inside salt but at what levels? This is the question we attempted to answer to help our audience lower their sodium intake while also lowering their intake of heavy metals and microplastics.
Mamavation sent 23 salt products off to an EPA-certified laboratory to test for aluminum, arsenic, and heavy metals cadmium, mercury & lead and microplastics. The good news is no salt product came back with the equivalent levels that would require a Prop. 65 warning based on serving size per day. In addition, no salt product had high enough microplastics that could be conclusively recognized through FTIR testing. The bad news was all salt products had detectable amounts of the subject metals present. Mamavation has done our best to share with you what our laboratory found so that if you are concerned about clearly toxic or potentially toxic metals inside your salt, you’ll be able to make an educated decision when shopping. Here’s what we found:
- The light metal, aluminum, was found in 78% of the salt products. 35% of salt products had over 100,000 ppb of aluminum.
- Arsenic was found in 100% of salt products. 74% of salt products had over 10 ppb of arsenic.
- Cadmium was found in 70% of salt products. 4% of salt products had over 4.1 ppb of cadmium.
- Mercury was NOT found in any salt products.
- Lead was found in 96% of salt products.
- Microplastics were so minute they could not be conclusively detected and recognized via Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopic imaging for any sample.
Federal vs. California Prop. 65 “Safe Harbor” Levels For Heavy Metals like Lead & Arsenic
So what levels of lead, arsenic, mercury, & cadmium are concerning to public health officials? According to the Food & Drug Administration, the levels inside your food that you are allowed to be exposed to are as follows:
- Heavy metals as lead (as Pb), should not be in your food or supplements at more than 10 parts per million (ppm)
- Arsenic (as As), should not be in your food or supplement at more than 3 parts per million (ppm)
- Mercury (as Hg), should not be in your food or supplements at more than 1 part per million (ppm)
- Cadmium levels (as Cd) in bottled water should not exceed 0.005 parts per million (ppm)
When it comes to protecting consumers, California has far more stringent health protective levels, but instead of banning products, they require manufacturers to use label warnings instead. California’s Prop. 65 established “safe harbor levels” for most of the heavy metals we tested: arsenic, cadmium, lead, & mercury. Prop. 65 requires businesses to provide warnings to consumers living in California about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. These chemicals can be in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or released into the environment. By requiring this information to be provided, it enables consumers in California to make informed decisions about their exposure to these chemicals.
Here are the No Significant Risk Levels (NSRL) and the Maximum Allowable Dose Levels (MADL) established by the State of California for the heavy metals we tested:
- Arsenic: 0.06 ug/day (inhalation), 10 ug/day (except inhalation)
- Cadmium: 0.05 ug/day (inhalation), 4.1 ug/day (oral)
- Lead: 0.5 ug/day level for reproductive toxicity, 15 ug/day (oral) for carcinogens
- Mercury: no established levels (and therefore no seafood would require a warning)
- Aluminum: no established levels (and therefore no salt products would require a warning)
The most difficult part to understand about Prop. 65 is it’s not about the actual test results. Defendents must prove that the average person would consume enough to the product in a 70 year period to cause cancer or reproductive harm. If that contaminate is “naturally occurring” like so many heavy metals are in the soil (especially in modern times from agricultural pesticides in the case of arsenic and lead and the myriad other uses of lead such as its now terminated use as a combustion promoter in gasoline), a company can avoid having to provide a warning label. Therefore, it’s complicated and difficult to understand unless you have good attorneys by your side to explain. But the bottomline is no salt product we tested would require a warning label under the California statute.
Aluminum in Food & Standards Set in Europe
Aluminum can come from natural sources as it makes up 8% of the earth’s mass. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) considers aluminum used as an indirect additive in food “generally regarded as safe.” Thus aluminum compounds are used in many ways in American food production as preservatives, as color dyes, anti-caking agents, or for leavening breads without active yeast. It’s possible aluminum could be finding its way into salt in various levels as an anti-caking agent, which would help prevent it from clumping. However, not all of these products disclosed the use of aluminum as a food additive if they were using it.
The amount of aluminum from indirect food additives varies from person to person based on what you are eating, however, it’s assumed to be anywhere from 0 to 95 milligrams per day for Americans. The United States does not have any standards for aluminum in food that we could find. We could, however, find tolerable weekly intakes from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) & the World Health Organization (WHO) based on the precautionary principle.
- Based on the combined evidence from several studies, EFSA has recommended a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 1 mg aluminum/kg body weight/week. Thus using EFSA’s estimate, a person weighing 150 lbs. can tolerate up to the equivalent of 68 mg of aluminum per week.
- More recently, in 2011, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) reviewed scientific evidence which increased their confidence in the risk assessment, and thus WHO experts established an increased Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) of 2 mg/kg body weight. This means, according to the WHO, someone who weighs 150 lbs. could safely 136 mg per week.
Because you are also getting aluminum inside other foods like baked goods with flour, beans, condiments, cereals, cheese sauces, root vegetables, & certain seafood, it may be possible, especially for people with bad kidneys, that you could be consuming more than a safe recommendation. In reflection of the Precautionary Principle, we’ve tested salt for aluminum for you as well to help you make those decisions yourself on where you would like your dietary aluminum to come from.
How Do Heavy Metals Find Themselves in Salt?
So how do heavy metals (aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, mercury & lead) find their way into salt? Officially, we are not certain brand by brand, but here are some theories based on how other food products are contaminated:
- Naturally Occurring: Heavy metals are naturally present in the soil in different concentrations based on the geology of the land. For instance, more cadmium is found in certain soils in South America and less in certain African soils. This may be why we consistently found higher heavy metals in Himalayan salts vs. most sea salts because Himalayan salt is dug out of the ground mostly in Pakistan, which is also known to have higher levels of Cadmium in the soil. However, it is to be remembered that Himalayan sea salt is thought to have been laid down in the Permian Epoch more than 250 million years ago so the metal content reflects that truly ancient environment.
- Legacy Pesticide Use: For many decades, heavy metals were added to pesticides as an adjuvants, or were key components of pesticide toxicity such as with lead arsenate used as a pesticide in orchards and can still be found in soils with a history of certain pesticide use. Thus, runoff from farm use could find its way into sea salt.
- Manufacturing Contamination: Heavy metals can be found in many manufacturing situations, for example, as equipment is used dust from abrasion can contaminate food and personal care products that way. When salt is processed, the manufacturing equipment itself could pose a contamination risk.
- Storage: In places where heavy metals are present in the soil, storing and drying certain salts outside can present a contamination risk. Dark chocolate is known to be contaminated this way.
- Air Pollution: Heavy metals can start as air pollution from manufacturing byproducts from polluted industrial areas and can find their way into other parts of the world through the wind and through bodies of water. For example, mercury originally found in coal is released into the air when coal is burned. Downwind it falls to the earth and is converted to methyl mercury, which moves up the food chain contaminating fish, including tuna. We were happy to see that mercury was non-detect for all samples of salt.
- Food Additives: Some food additives could be contaminated with heavy metals, or as in the case with aluminum, could itself be a food additive.
Investigation of Salts for Heavy Metals & Raw Data
To recap, Mamavation sent 23 salt products to an EPA-certified lab testing for aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, mercury & lead. 100% of salt products had detectable amounts of heavy metals and those levels and types of heavy metals varied. Here’s a couple of notes to consider before reading the raw data:
- The laboratory also looked for microplastics by using Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopic imaging. Microplastics were found, but they were not in high enough levels for the test to conclusively recognize what type of microplastics they were.
- Parts per billion is ppb and parts per million is ppm.
- 1 ppm = 1,000 ppb
- MRL means Maximum Residue Levels which meant that the lab could detect some metals, but it was so low they could not measure the exact amount.
We divided the 23 salt products into 3 categories according to contamination levels. These levels reflect the overall levels of heavy metal contamination in each product but do not follow specific government recommendations.
(Update: 3 additional salt products were added to this investigation on 2/13/24 and are marked with a ** in the “not our favorite” category.)
Not Our Favorite Salt Products
These salt products represented the highest amounts of heavy metals according to our laboratory. Aluminum is reported in the ppm, while other heavy metals are reported in the ppb. In this category, you will find between 29 – 242 ppm of aluminum, 12.53 – 82.156 ppb arsenic, non-detect to 7.32 ppb cadmium, all mercury non-detect, and between 92.56 – 553.44 ppb of lead. (UPDATE: We added 3 additional salt products to this investigation from audience popularity and they are at the bottom of this category marked with a **. )
Not Our Favorite Salt Products
Al in ppm | As in ppb | Cd in ppb | Hg in ppb | Pb in ppb | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Artisan Salt Company Ancient Ocean Himalayan Pink Salt | 130.514 | 40.5 | 0.74 | ND | 96.834 |
Manischewitz Natural Kosher Salt | 29.955 | 12.536 | ND | ND | 140.572 |
McCormick Fine Ground Pink Himalayan Salt | 167.270 | 44.637 | < MRL | ND | 92.564 |
Redmonds Real Salt Ancient Fine Sea Salt | 229.071 | 36.14 | 7.3256 | ND | 252.246 |
San Francisco Salt Company Sherpa Pink Himalayan Salt | 251.824 | 39.43 | 1.1276 | ND | 132.984 |
Celtic Sea Salt Fine Ground | 171.320 | 82.156 | 1.1927 | ND | 553.440 |
Shaun Himalayan Salt | 173.534 | 42.006 | 1.7755 | ND | 106.704 |
The Spice Lab Himalayan Salt | 242.750 | 46.063 | 1.0684 | ND | 170.570 |
Trader Joes Himalayan Pink Salt Crystals | 83.041 | 33.686 | 1.7928 | ND | 180.695 |
Wellesley Farms Kosher Himalayan Pink Salt | 211.772 | 35.032 | 0.9818 | ND | 14.985 |
**Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt Fine Grind | < MRL | < MRL | 3.63 | ND | 337.79 |
**Colima Sea Salt | < MRL | < MRL | 2.29 | ND | 16.55 |
**Crucial Four mMinerals (Polar White Sea Salt) | 5.02 | 21.94 | 1.13 | ND | 7.41 |
Better Salt Products
These salt products represent the middle of the road in terms of heavy metals according to our lab. Aluminum is reported in the ppm, while other heavy metals are reported in the ppb. This category has the following levels present: Between 2.154 – 80.468 ppm of aluminum, between 7.39 – 24.14 ppb of arsenic, between non-detect – 0.77 ppb of cadmium, no mercury, & between 45.63 – 84.45 ppb of lead.
Al in ppm | As in ppb | Cd in ppb | Hg in ppb | Pb in ppb | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frontier Co-Op Fine Grind Pink Himalayan Salt | 80.468 | 17.487 | < MRL | ND | 71.416 |
Seasonello Iodized Sea Salt | 3.426 | 7.391 | < MRL | ND | 55.496 |
Terrasoul Superfoods Himalayan Pink Salt | 16.377 | 24.141 | 0.620 | ND | 84.447 |
Watkins Fine Himalayan Pink Salt | 76.864 | 19.102 | 0.752 | ND | 90.246 |
Vera Salt Pure Natural Spring Salt Microplastic Free | 2.154 | 15.425 | 0.769 | ND | 45.627 |
Best Salt Products
These salt products had the lowest amounts of heavy metals. Aluminum is reported in the ppm, while other heavy metals are reported in the ppb. Here’s how low this category was: All aluminum was under 2 ppm, all arsenic was 15.27 ppb or less, all cadmium was 2.56 ppb or less, all Mercury was non-detect, and all lead was 14.99 or less. MRL means Maximum Residue Levels which meant that the lab could detect some metals, but it was so low they could not measure the exact amount.
Best Salt Products
Al in ppm | As in ppb | Cd in ppb | Hg in ppb | Pb in ppb | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
David's Kosher Salt | ND | 10.839 | < MRL | ND | 3.561 |
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt | ND | ND | < MRL | ND | ND |
Hain Pure Foods Iodized Salt | < MRL | 9.552 | 2.559 | ND | 3.702 |
Jacobsen's Salt Company Kosher Sea Salt | 1.690 | 9.885 | 0.532 | ND | < MRL |
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes | ND | 12.799 | ND | ND | < MRL |
Morton Iodized Salt | ND | < MRL | < MRL | ND | 11.967 |
Saltverk Flaky Sea Salt | ND | 15.273 | ND | ND | 6.571 |
Wellesley Farms Mediterranean Sea Salt | < MRL | 7.602 | < MRL | ND | 14.985 |
Chris W
How about Eden Celtic French Sea Salt? I mean, if it says they leave the minerals in, wouldn’t that include whatever else comes along with it, including heavy metals?
kal
This is bogus!
Kosher Salt has no data (ND) yet it is listed under Best/better category!!!!
I don’t trust this website!
Danielle
ND means not detected
Anonymous
I think that stands for Not Detected
A.J.
Yeah, me either!
Josie
The three you tested later seems to test well. Are they listed in the wrong category? Specifically crucial, shouldn’t it be under better?
Danielle
Did you test Costco’s pink Himalayan salt? Or Himalayan chef pink salt?
BC
Why are the salts you newly added to your results under the not so good list? Based on their results, they should be in a better salt list. No?
Leah Segedie
Each one of them failed one of the categories. We did not change those categories…we placed them in accordance with what we had already done.
janyce prall
Hello. First: Thanks for all you do. I was wondering why you didn’t test Costco’s Kirkland Brand of Pink Himalayan. Can you tell me?
Susan JunFish
I second the motion, analyzing Costco table salt and pink salt would be helpful, especially since they are massively consumed by not just individuals but used by the restaurant industry serving many.
Also, I am concerned about the way samples are taken. I’m a scientist by training and when we attempt an analysis, we would normally split a sample from one production and do the same for at least 2 or 3 more productions.
From each of the split samples, we have positive controls (where we know the amount of heavy metals to make sure the assay is working properly) , negative controls, where we have no products, and samples given to the labs are labeled in a way such that the tester has no knowledge of what they are to reduce bias.
Dee
I just purchased an 8 lb. container of Evolution Salt Co. Gourmet Pink Himalayan Salt (course grind). The company is based in Austin, TX, and the salt comes from Pakistan. Should I toss it?
aimee
I don’t see anything in the article that states what the sample size was. Are these results for what was found in 100g? 1000g? 500mg? 1 ounce? 1 tablespoon?
Leon
What about non-U.S. salt products from Canada and Europe. I use Maison Orphee Grey Salt and would love to have seen many more salts tested.
Jillian
How about the Mercola Himalaya salt?
Ana
Thanks for picking out the time to discuss this, I feel great about it and love studying more on this topic. It is extremely helpful for me. Thanks for such a valuable help again
Rosalyn
Thank you for this.
What doea this number mean?
Morton iodize salt 11.967 PB IN PPB
Also Jacobsen salt has aluminum 1.690 PPM. I have been using this salt for the last 3 years. I wonder if that’s what caused my kid aluminum levels to get rise slightly?. It is such a expensive salt.
Jennifer
RE: What does this number mean? Morton iodize salt 11.967 PB IN PPB
– “PB” is the elemental abbreviation for lead. “PPM” stands for parts per million.
Laurie Adamson
There are so many sources of aluminum we are exposed to the salt is most likely only one source. You may know this but if you want to reduce your child’s aluminum levels have them drink silica rich mineral water, 3 to 4 cups a day. There are many waters which have enough silica to remove aluminum, Fiji, Spritzer and Gerlosteiner and you can also make your own Silicade. If you want to learn more check out my husband’s (Dennis N Crouse) and my website site Prevent Alzheimer’s, Autism and Stroke. We also have blogs on blogger, you tube channels, and facebook pages.
Heidi
I would be interested to know the results for French Grey Sea Salt (I buy it from the San Francisco Salt Company). The course grain is more wet and grey than the fine grain which appears to be more refined. So testing should be on the course grain.
BayMom
I knew that French/Celtic sea salt and Pink H salt were bad and had lead. I have been loyally using Jacobson’s salt and also Saltwerk salt as previous studies stated that these had less lead. Glad that they make the “good list” but not so happy to see they still have alum, arsenic and cadmium. Sigh. I would not get the ones with iodine if you ask me – toxic.
Anonymous
I agree
S. McGill
How would iodine not be nutritive in these amounts?
Kim
I have recently discovered Watkins brand seasonings, and love the flavors. Now I am questioning all their products. Ugh.
W. Kruger
It is somewhat odd that the “safest” brands are mainstream brands–Morton, Hain, Diamond… I have been using Himalayan pink salt for years because of trace mineral content. I’m pretty sure that the mainstream brands don’t contain healthy levels of trace minerals. So this is quite a bummer…
Rosie H
That’s how I feel too. My functional med doctor recommended Redmonds Real Salt and I switched from Morton’s which is in the ND category.
S. McGill
How would iodine not be nutritive in these amounts?
Alison
I have so much Redmond and I’m so disappointed. I don’t even know anymore. I don’t know what to get.
Kimberly Phoenix
Exactly my thoughts 💭
Amaia
Thank you for this testing. What about Morton Himalayan salt? I wanted to try Himalayan or Celtic for their trace minerals and great health benefits I’ve heard about. I guess I’ll stick to Morton Iodized for cooking and try the Morton sea salt flakes in my water for hydration.
Jaclyn Miller
I am wondering the same thing!
Ann
Keep this in mind. There are no “great” health benefits – they are absolutely minimal. There are other ways to get trace minerals.
DB
It looks to me, in my unscientific opinion, like the more processed it is, the less stuff that’s in it because the more content has been removed, including the good stuff like the minerals.
I would be interested to know how the amount of the chemicals listed compared to other natural foods and things to understand the degree.
Randy Cassels
So what salt do you use Leah?
I have been using Redmonds sea salt for years thinking that it is as good as it gets.
Nonya
How can you say that when it tested poorly. That is ignorance. The great Salt Lake is the most contaminated place where they worry about the dust and bed exposure everyday due to arsenic in the air and more. I wouldn’t touch anything from there.
Lia
Redmond Real Salt doesn’t come from the Great Salt Lake:) Its comes from an ancient sea bed in Redmond Utah, far far away from the Great Salt Lake
Eko
I actually tried to go visit the Redmond Sea Salt mine when I drove through Utah in 2016. Apparently I was the first “customer” to ever ask to see it, way back then. They said no because its just too primitive and not safe for regular visitors.
GINA Wilgis BATEMAN
same, but for the Celtic. this was so disappointing to read!
Anonymous
Me too
Samantha Woheltz
Same !
jB
Falksalt Himalayan and their plain sea salt flakes please! Fleur De Guerande (French, hand harvested) oh I have a long list …we looove our salt heh. Thank you!!
Ann Pearrow
We just purchased a lot of Redmond’s and Celtic Sea Salt on Barbara O’Neill’s recommendation. Spent quite a lot of money on tainted salt thinking it was the safest. I am shocked and dismayed! Which brand is the safest and the cheapest now that I have wasted all this money and will need to replace the salt we bought.
Gina
Same! I thought Celtic sea salt was supposed to be fabulous. And Redmond’s. Sigh…
Emma
This has to be a joke how can Morton’s iodized table salt be better? I’m sorry but I feel like the list with the good salt is actually the bad salt.
Anonymous
Thanks
So Fleur De Guerande is okay to consume?
Sandy
My guess is that the refined salts don’t have as much heavy metals because they are removed or lessened in the refining process along with the minerals which are also heavy metals.
Michele K
Seems he same to me. Such a let down. The good salt companies should test their own salt for safety, then filter out the heavy metals. We don’t want highly refined salt from big conglomerates. We want the good trace minerals and to support the better companies.
ugh.
karo
Key quote from early in this article:
“The good news is no salt product came back with the equivalent levels that would require a Prop. 65 warning based on serving size per day.“
And ‘ca lif or nia’ seems to be overly cautious with warnings.
I had typed lots more to take into consideration, but the page refreshed and I had to start over. Not wasting time letting that happen again.
Lisa
I know your pain, I just did the same with Redmonds. I’m so 😠 mad.
Anonymous
Yes I agree. I’ve spent way too much money on these highly recommended salts. Redmonds and Celtic. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
P Neyman
PS please add what do the abbreviations at top each chart mean (AL,AS etc)
Anonymous
They are the element symbols for the different contaminants. Al- aluminum, As- arsenic, Cd- cadmium, Hg- mercury, Pb- lead
Tracy
I don’t see the category for lead? What am I missing? Looking at Diamond Crystal in the best salt products grouping, could someone explain?
Dee
It’s the last column on the right.
P Neyman
I am looking for a healthy source of trace minerals I am not getting now, and that is why i was looking at these salts. Your research is huge and impressive and useful! However my immediate question of course is how do all these salts compare with respect to their ingredients. I have been looking at some in the supermarket and noticing they do not list trace minerals at all.
Renee
I believe the company called upgraded formulas has minerals. They also provide hair analysis that is well respected within the functional medicine community that I am a part of. The analysis will also show if there are deficiencies in minerals.
CF
Great content on your site, Leah! Thank you for this work!
I see a lot of replies here asking for other products to be tested including the brands I use. I also see some manufacturers did not respond to you.
How can we, your growing set of followers, best leverage our collective power to drive industry towards safer products and greater transparency? For example, do you have a template we can use when we contact manufacturers of what to ask for?
Also, do you have a template we can use when we contact our legislators? Think about what can be accomplished with the power of the thousands of moms outraged by learning the myriad ways we are slowly poisoning our children. Legislation demanding greater transparency? Stronger regulation? Funding for independent testing?
Debbie
Good ideas!!
Lisa
And targeting the companies that pollute so much in the first place. Especially big Ag and big Pharma, of which billionaires and politicians have earned massive fortunes from.
Susan JunFish
thank you for your comment, I totally agree!
Charmaine
What about Hawaiian Alaea Red sea salt? It had iron oxide, and 80 natural natural elements, electrolytes and trace minerals of potassium and magnesium. Red alaea clay is extracted from the veins between the layers of lava rock. sodium chloride is.84%
Barbara
What about SoSalt? Sicilian sea salt?
Lealea
What about Gadesal salt?
Danielle
Have been using Natierra for more than 3 years. Would also love to know if it is safe.
Rosemarie
I’ve been using Natierra as well and would love to know.
Sara Levine
BS”D
You’re fantastic!
Donated and will again. Keep those analyses coming PLEASE!
Would love to know if Colima salt supposedly from a lake in Mexico, is as clean as they claim, please.
Anonymous
Same!
Ursula Harlos
same!
Lora
Dammit. They ARE trying to poison us! 😡
Barbara
No they’re not! It’s a by product of being civilized and uneducated about the consequences of manufacturing and industry. Recall supply vs demand. If YOU didn’t buy any products they wouldn’t be manufactured but then you too want to live by modern standards! Businesses are first motivated to fill a need, make money and then (cover up) worry about negative consequences. It’s not always a conspiracy!
Bee
Ummm yes they are!!! And this ain’t no conspiracy. They been spraying our air food and water for years. Wake up barb!
Deb
Yes, Bee, that is Very TRUE!!… And NOT conspiracy theories. Chem Trails that the planes have been spraying all over cities for MANY years, along with ALL the toxins, GMOs, additives, etc. in all of the packaged foods for MANY years, and toxic chemicals are in most tap water!! I hear in some states, they want to convert sewage water to tap water!! Do your research!! Please people wake up and smell the stench of toxins and poisons real soon!!
Rob
“Chem Trails that the planes have been spraying all over”
Um, you mean contrails, which are a simple natural phenomenon due to water vapor condensing in cold air? Do you know anything about science, or just paranoid conspiracy theories?
D
Sounds like Rob missed the whole geoengineering program the USA is currently part of…shame.
It started back in the 1950’s and really ramped up during the Viet Nam war.
https://www.geoengineeringmonitor.org/
Js
Thats the absolute truth deb.people need to wake up and look up.
Our trees are dying too!
Kathleen McCarthy
I was under the impression that Redmonds was the best around…guess I need to rethink that.
Kasey
They are trying to poison us…I’ve been watching chem trails for many years now. What are they spraying? Why do so many people think they are clouds or trails from commercial airliners? Look up and you tell me what it’s all about.
Mia
It’s evil is what it’s all about 🙁
Claudette
Totally right. There are tons of data and whistleblowers now. They are evil and deserve hell. Is we all come together as one they will be done is days.
JEROMY STEWART
I think we disagree on what comprises a conspiracy. Profiting from systems that harm of others is ethically unthinkable.
Barbara
Has anyone noticed that these toxins now in salt and virtually everywhere in/on the entire planet are major components of batteries??? 😳😳 My parents and my generation have spent decades throwing them in the trash,landfills, is it any wonder???
Sandy
A bigger culprit would be chem trails which contain aluminum and cadmium but not sure about arsenic. What I found on batteries does not match up with the metals being found in salt. The battery chemistry that powers every Energizer® alkaline battery is a precise combination of zinc, high-density manganese dioxide, and potassium hydroxide.
Lithium-ion batteries – main substances needed will be the chemical elements graphite, cobalt, lithium, manganese and nickel.
Leslie Beck
I’d like to see Costco’s Kirkland pink salt tested since that is a common one that Costco shoppers buy. Also, Azure Standard has a pink salt and sea salt that they sell under their brand name. Thanks for the work you are doing!
Susan K
I was looking for the Costco Kirkland rating also.
Natalie
Same. Iodized salt is not a good option in my understanding even if it is cleaner.
Jen
I buy azure’s salt. Looks like its from Pakistan. Not sure of testing levels though.
Melissa Roth
Also would love to know about kirkland brand!
Js
Yes indeed
GEO ENGINEERING WATCH.COM
They are spraying our skies
Look up its rarely blue.
Pay attention!
Fighting Father
Thank you so much for this report Leah :)!
Wondering if you had a chance to test Crucial Four Icelandic Salt?
You rock!
Kaitlyn Hilton
Yes please! Would love results from crucial four if tested !
Virginia Kellogg
Which Salt Is Safest To Consume??🤷🏻♀️
Tara Georges
Yes would love to know about crucial four Icelandic salt.
Rachel
Thanks for posting this. Maybe in the future you could test A Vogel Herbamare sea salt. Been using it for the last 15 years.
belinda
Please rate Dr. Berg baja gold sea salt from Mexico, naturally harvested from the Sea of Cortez. Has the minerals and trace element profile for health. Good for hydration and no micro-plastics!
VS
She did. It’s the same as the Baja Gold under the worst list.
Leslie Brooks
I recently found out about Diamond Crystal flake salt – how it’s the one most restaurants use / it’s not as strongly salty as non-flaked salt so you have to use more – but it’s good – it permeates the food well – Now I see here it’s non toxic. Yay! It’s not cheap and I had to order a big box from Amazon – but I’m glad to have a good supply of non toxic salt!
Sarah
~ Many thanks for your insightful posts on what to avoid in our food & spices. However, I did not see any ratings for Morton Coarse Kosher Salt or McCormick’ Himalayan Pink Salt Grinder. If I didn’t know any better (but do!), I believe they’re trying to kill us all! Thank you, your hard work is greatly appreciated. ~
Diane Klemmer
Is the Diamond Crystal Sea Salt one that’s safe or just the kosher salt? I do want all the minerals that sea salt offers. Are they in kosher?
Tanya
Was Crucial Four salt tested?
Josephine
I live in Europe and sadly we don’t have any website like Mamavation to run tests. I wonder if there any general guidelines we can follow when buying salt (such as country of origin) to minimize our exposure?
Rebecca Bowling
Do you have any results for Riega Himalayan Salt or Wild Pink Himalayan Salt. I wrote the companies to get the report. Thank you.
Becca
Edye
You didn’t test the course grey celtic sea salt. The celtic company told me that their salt tests very low for toxic heavy metals. Salt tested by both their lab and an independent lab. ??
Chace
This is the salt I use and love! I’d love to have third-party verification of their claim!
Melinda
I didn’t see Baja Gold Salt Co. on your list.
Naya
Which brand is this? Brittany?
Pam Orr
Colima is plastic free; any other info?
Cari
I’d also like to see Colima salt tested!
Fonda Neal
Ditto for Colima sea salt! Thanks 🙂
Trish Aquino
Hi Leah!
As alarming as these reports are, it is such important information! I just threw out an entire bag of Selina Naturally Coarse Celtic Sea Salt! I have also been buying Natierra Himalayan Fine Pink Salt for years and would really love it if you would test that also.
Thank you so much!
Trish
Amy
I’ve also been using Natierra for the last 10 years and would like to know as well
Rosemarie
I’ve been using Natierra as well and would love to know.
Ashley
So this means no Himalayan or pink mineral salts passed the test? :,( What about Redmond salt or Impact Utah mineral salt? Very discouraging thinking we are buying the best for our families 🙁 Thank you for doing this!
Jenifer Rooke
Wow. Looks like we will be throwing out our supposed Real salt lol
Good to know as we use a lot.
Thank you!!!
Lia
She won’t release her “verified” 3rd party testing, but Redmond will, I trust them a lot more than someone making claims with “testing” that we don’t know anything about, Redmond will send you all their facts, all verified, reach out to them and you will see.
Ana
What about Redmond’s Real Kosher Salt?
Julia S.
Thank you very much for this Leah, this is very useful info to be aware of!
Misty Hill
THANK YOU for posting clear and accurate information!!! And thank you for taking the time to care enough to do this research! As the mother of a lead-poisoned toddler, we’ve been on this lead-free journey for 7 years now. Things like salt slip in without us even knowing, so I appreciate your factual research!
Colima
Have you tried testing Colima salt?
Cynthia
I was hoping to see results for that salt also!
Andrew Levine
This is all disturbing. We have been using Celtic sea salt and would have loved to see it included as it is the most highly touted product for containing the most trace minerals, the very minerals that support cellular hydration.
Leah Segedie
It was included. We just used their entire name. If you go back and look now, we shortened their name to “Celtic Sea Salt” to make it more recognizable for everyone.
Pat L
It would have been nice to see the Eden Foods salts tested. They do one from the protected Isle of Noirmoutier (France) and one from environmentally-protected marshes in southern Portugal’s Algarve region. Both are hand-harvested from protected areas.
Dee
I’d also be interested in Eden, we buy many of their products.
Cyndi Braun
Yes!