Soft water salt manufacturers tell you that industrial salt is not nitrite

The industrial salt mentioned in the standard refers to industrial-grade sodium chloride, without mentioning nitrate or nitrite. It contains very little harmful substances such as lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and nitrite. Unless the product is contaminated by the outside world, it generally will not exceed the national food safety standards. As long as the salt is produced by a regular salt-making enterprise, it generally will not cause poisoning.

The reason why people mistake nitrite for salt is that they are similar in appearance, both being white crystals, similar to the human eye. Both are soluble in water and have a salty taste. Finally, in terms of application, nitrite is often used as a coloring additive in cooked meat products, and thus is widely used in many restaurants, canteens, and meat product processing. Salt must be used in catering and food processing, and when placed together, it is easy to be misused.

In most cases, industrial salt poisoning incidents reported in the information media are caused by excessive consumption of nitrite. In addition, nitrite is a carcinogen. Accidental ingestion of nitrite poses a significant threat to health. Because nitrite contains the character for "salt", many media outlets in society have reported nitrite poisoning incidents as poisoning incidents caused by consuming industrial salt. This extremely inaccurate report not only caused fear among consumers who were unaware of the truth, but also confused the concept of industrial salt. It is completely wrong to describe nitrite poisoning as industrial salt poisoning.

These are two completely different products.

The product descriptions of the two salt standards are no different. The chemical formula and molecular weight are the same, and the sensory indicators, main physical and chemical indicators, and even the data requirements are all the same. However, salt and industrial salt have different requirements for impurities. There are several requirements for impurities in industrial salt: moisture, water-insoluble substances, calcium and magnesium ions, and sulfate ions. Salt also has these requirements for impurities, but there are a few more: fluorine, barium, arsenic and lead. These indicators that have an impact on human health are the biggest differences in the requirements for impurities between industrial salt and table salt. That is to say, according to product standards, when industrial salt leaves the factory, these hygiene standards do not need to be tested, while the factory testing of edible salt is much stricter.

Due to the different requirements for impurities, the production of industrial salt is also different from that of salt. There may be a process in the production of salt to remove heavy metals. Of course, whether to use it or not may depend on the specific place of origin. However, if the content of fluorine, barium, arsenic and lead exceeds the standard, it is substandard salt and cannot be sold as salt.

Some unscrupulous merchants, in order to cut costs, do mix industrial salt with edible salt, and even use industrial salt to replace edible salt in food. The composition of industrial salt itself is complex, and the impurities from different sources vary, making quality management difficult. In terms of whether it will cause harm, since there is a large margin left in the general food hygiene standards, the possibility of harm is not high when it exceeds the standard by several times. It's no exaggeration to say it's toxic directly, but industrial raw materials should not be used in food. Violation is illegal, violation is illegal, and it has nothing to do with "whether the consequences are serious or not". It should be strictly pursued.