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Ingredients

What's the best natural salt to buy?

By · 3 min read · Published · Last reviewed

I cook almost everything my three boys eat, so salt goes into nearly every meal in our house. I wanted to know what is actually in the jar: where it comes from, what happens to it on the way, and which brands I can buy here in Canada and across the border. Here is what I found, with every source linked at the bottom.

Start here

Four kinds of salt on the shelf

All food salt is at least 97% sodium chloride. What differs is the source, the moisture, small amounts of other minerals, the crystal and what is added.

  • Unrefined sea salt

    Today's seawater, dried in pans

    Sel gris, fleur de sel and solar sea salt. Moist, grey or flaky.

    Made
    Sun and wind, or heat
    Added
    Nothing

  • Mined rock salt

    An ancient seabed, cut underground

    Redmond Real Salt from Utah, salt slabs from the Sahara and the Danakil.

    Made
    Mined, crushed, milled
    Added
    Nothing

  • Himalayan pink

    Rock salt from Pakistan's Salt Range

    About 540 to 600 million years old, and not from the Himalaya at all.

    Made
    Mined, sorted by the packer
    Added
    Usually nothing

  • Refined table salt

    Dissolved, purified, recrystallized

    White because it is recrystallized in vacuum pans, not bleached.

    Made
    Vacuum-pan evaporation
    Added
    Anti-caking agent, iodide, dextrose

The map

Where salt is made

Every place I looked into, from the clay marshes of Brittany to the 6,500-year-old mine at Duzdağ in Nakhchivan. Filter by source, then tap a place to see how its salt is made.

Source
Show
  • Natural food salt
  • Refined or iodized
  • Industrial or closed
  • Circle = sea · square = rock · triangle = spring or lake
Natural food salt

Guérande

France · Sea salt

Tidal water flows through clay basins; grey salt is raked from the floor, fleur de sel skimmed by hand.

Washed
Unwashed
Energy
Sun and wind
Seal
IGP 2012 · Label Rouge
Brands
Le Guérandais
Source for Guérande (opens in a new tab)

Showing 47 of 47 places. Pins sit on the town or region; the Baja pin is approximate.

All places on the map

Side by side

Sea, rock, pink or refined

Unrefined sea salt, mined rock salt, Himalayan pink salt and refined table salt compared
Unrefined sea saltMined rock saltHimalayan pinkRefined table salt
How it's madeSun and wind, hand-raked; the best grades are unwashedCut underground, crushed and milledRoom-and-pillar mining; cleaned and graded by the packerBrine purified and evaporated in vacuum pans
Sodium by weightUp to 39%; moist salts less per gramUp to 39%Just under 39%About 39% (pure sodium chloride is 39.3% sodium)
Other minerals per teaspoon (5 g)Magnesium, calcium, potassium, sulfate; amounts varyNot published per brandCa 13 mg · Mg 13 mg · K 12 mg · Fe 0.3 mgClose to pure sodium chloride
MoistureFleur de sel up to 10%; grey salt higherDryDryAbout 0.5%
AddedNothing in IGP and PDO saltsNothing on the Real Salt labelUsually nothingAnti-caking agent (up to 13 ppm sodium ferrocyanide in the US), iodide, dextrose
IodineUsually noneNoneNoneRequired in Canada for table salt; optional in the US
Microplastics (39-brand study)Highest group, 0 to 1,674 particles per kgLowest group, 0 to 148 per kgRock group, 0 to 148 per kgNot measured separately
TextureMoist, coarse or flakySpeckled, dry, grinds finePink, dry, hardFine, free-flowing
Where I use itFinishing (fleur de sel), cooking and brining (grey)Everyday shaker, bread doughGrinder, finishingRecipes written for it

Sodium and mineral figures: Fayet-Moore et al. 2020 (31 pink salts) and the American Heart Association. Microplastics: Kim et al. 2018. For pickles and ferments, any salt without anti-caking agents works; those agents cloud the brine (NC State Extension).

Quick pick

If you want…

  • The most traditional, documented sea salt

    Guérande or Île de Ré sel gris or fleur de sel

    IGP rules: hand harvest, no washing, nothing added.

  • Unwashed salt with lab reports per lot

    Celtic Sea Salt (Selina Naturally)

    Posts its 2026 certificates of analysis online.

  • A dry, unwashed salt for the shaker

    Redmond Real Salt

    Mined in Utah and only crushed.

  • The lowest lead in independent tests

    Maldon or Jacobsen

    Below the reporting limit in tests; both are heated.

  • Purely sun-dried, from North America

    San Juan Island or Maine Sea Salt Co.

    Greenhouse ponds, no boiling.

  • Salt made in Canada

    Vancouver Island, Tidal Salt (NS), Newfoundland Salt Co.

    All three use some heat.

Brands

The brands, checked

What each brand says it does, what is in the bag, and what independent labs found. I put the brand's own lab results next to the independent ones because they don't always agree.

Salt brands: origin, method, additives, lab reports and verdict
BrandFromHow it's madeAddedBrand lab reportsVerdict
Le GuérandaisGuérande, France · seaHand-skimmed, not washedNothingNone foundNatural · IGP
Celtic Sea SaltNot disclosed · seaLight Grey unwashed and moistNothingEvery lot; 2026 Fine Ground lead not detectedNatural
Baja GoldSea of Cortez, Mexico · seaSun-dried; washing not statedNothingReports posted without summary valuesNatural
Redmond Real SaltRedmond, Utah · rockMined, crushed, milledNothingCouldn't be checkedNatural
Piran SaltSečovlje, Slovenia · seaHand-raked, ungroundNothingNone foundNatural · PDO
MaldonEssex, UK · sea flakeGas-heated pansNothingNone foundHeated
JacobsenOregon, US · seaReverse osmosis, boiled, rinsedNothingNone foundHeated
Kirkland PinkPakistan, packed in the US · rockCrushedNothingNone foundNatural
Windsor Fine Sea SaltNot stated · seaRefinedIodide, sodium thiosulphate, yellow prussiate of sodan/aRefined
La BaleineAigues-Mortes, France · seaRefinedE535, E504n/aRefined

Lead in independent tests, parts per billion

Mamavation, 2026; one sample per product, lab and dates not published. For scale, Australia's legal limit for lead in salt is 2,000 ppb (as cited by Fayet-Moore et al. 2020).

Celtic Fine Ground
553
Baja Gold
338
Redmond Real Salt
252
Trader Joe's pink
181
Sherpa Pink
133
Kirkland Pink
61
Celtic Makai Pure
35
Maldon
Below limit
Jacobsen
Below limit

Where to buy

Canada and the US

Prices and stock checked on 2 Nov 2026. I couldn't confirm what Edmonton stores have on the shelf, so call ahead.

StoreTypeBrands I found
Well.ca (opens in a new tab)Online, ships Canada-wideReal Salt 737 g $21.99 · Celtic Light Grey 454 g $13.99 · Maldon 240 g $11.29
GoodnessMe (opens in a new tab)Ontario stores and onlineReal Salt 284 g $10.49 · Celtic 227 g $18.99 · Maldon 250 g $10.99
OnlineOrganics.ca (opens in a new tab)OnlineLe Guérandais fleur de sel 125 g $10.98
Costco.ca (opens in a new tab)Online and warehouseMaldon 570 g
Vancouver Island Sea Salt (opens in a new tab)Producer directOwn salts; free shipping over $100
Baja Gold stockists (opens in a new tab)Two small shops (QC, ON)Baja Gold; the brand itself ships only in the US
Planet Organic (opens in a new tab)Natural grocer, Edmonton-foundedStock not listed online; call ahead

In the aisle

How I check a bag of salt

  • One ingredient

    "Sea salt" or "salt", nothing else. Skip E535/E536, yellow prussiate of soda, silicates, dextrose or iodide if you want salt with nothing added.

  • A named place

    Better still, an IGP, PDO or DOP seal. Those rules fix the method in law: hand harvest, no washing, nothing added.

  • The method in words

    Sun-dried or heated, washed or unwashed, hand or machine harvest. If the bag doesn't say, ask the brand.

  • A lab report per lot

    Lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury in ppb, with the detection limits. Compare it with independent tests.

  • A real seller

    Buy from the brand or a store it lists. A marketplace reseller is not the brand.

  • Colour and moisture

    Grey and moist means unwashed, so expect some clay and clumping. That's the salt, not a fault.

History

8,000 years of salt

People boiled salty spring water long before anyone mined salt. Where salt could be cut into standard bars, it worked as money.

  1. 6050 BC

    Brine is boiled at Poiana Slatinei-Lunca, Romania: the earliest known salt making.

  2. 4500 BC

    Rock-salt mining begins at Duzdağ, Nakhchivan, the oldest known salt mine.

  3. 1300s BC

    Miners at Hallstatt, Austria, build a wooden staircase deep in the mountain that still survives, and cure pork in brine on site.

  4. 81 BC

    Han China debates its state monopoly on salt and iron.

  5. 1000s

    Saharan caravans trade salt slabs for gold; in Ethiopia's highlands, amole salt bars serve as money.

  6. 1360

    France makes its salt tax, the gabelle, permanent. It lasts until 1790.

  7. 1930

    Gandhi's Salt March challenges the British salt monopoly in India.

  8. 1980s

    A small group of salt workers saves the Guérande marshes from disappearing.

One story I left out on purpose: Roman soldiers were not paid in salt. “Salary” does come from the Latin word for salt, but no ancient source says they were paid in it.

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Questions people ask

Is sea salt lower in sodium than table salt?

Barely. Pure sodium chloride is 39.3% sodium by weight, so no salt can be more than that. Dry sea, rock and table salts all sit close to it. Moist salts like sel gris have a little less sodium per spoon because part of the weight is water and other minerals.

Is Himalayan salt really from the Himalaya?

No. It's mined in Pakistan's Salt Range, mostly around Khewra, from salt about 540 to 600 million years old. It's far older than the Himalaya.

Is refined salt bleached?

No. It's dissolved, filtered and recrystallized, which leaves it white. What it often has is added: an anti-caking agent and, for table salt in Canada, iodide.

Why can't I find non-iodized salt at my Canadian grocery store?

Canadian rules require table salt to be iodized. Unrefined salts are sold as "sea salts", as pickling salt, or through natural and specialty stores, which is why online shops are the easiest route.

Where exactly does Baja Gold come from?

The brand says a tidal lagoon on the Sea of Cortez, on the northeast side of the Baja peninsula. I couldn't find a source naming the exact salina, so the pin on my map is approximate.

Sources

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  88. Wikipedia, Hallstatt (opens in a new tab)
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  95. Wikipedia, Bochnia Salt Mine (opens in a new tab)
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  118. GoodnessMe, Celtic Fine Ground shaker (opens in a new tab)
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  120. Costco.ca, Maldon salt flakes 570 g (opens in a new tab)
  121. Walmart.ca, non-iodized salt (opens in a new tab)
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  123. Vancouver Island Sea Salt (canadianseasalt.com) (opens in a new tab)
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  125. Planet Organic (opens in a new tab)
  126. Whole Foods, Celtic Sea Salt Light Grey (opens in a new tab)
  127. Baja Gold home (opens in a new tab)
  128. Warehouse Runner (third-party), Costco Celtic Sea Salt (opens in a new tab)
  129. Thrive Market, Celtic Fine Ground (opens in a new tab)
  130. Vitacost, Redmond Real Salt (opens in a new tab)
  131. City Market co-op catalog (UNFI), Baja Gold (opens in a new tab)
  132. Milk Street Store, Jacobsen kosher sea salt (opens in a new tab)
  133. Walmart.com, Baja Gold 25 lb (marketplace) (opens in a new tab)
  134. Santa Prisca & Co (retailer blog), Baja Gold vs Himalayan (opens in a new tab)
  135. Korea Herald, Korean salt history (opens in a new tab)
  136. Salzwelten, Hallstatt (opens in a new tab)
  137. Merriam-Webster, salary (etymology note) (opens in a new tab)
  138. Language Hat, Salt and salary (opens in a new tab)
  139. World History Encyclopedia, Salt trade in ancient West Africa (opens in a new tab)
  140. Canada FDR section B.17.003 (opens in a new tab)
  141. Antiquity Project Gallery, Weller & Dumitroaia, Poiana Slatinei-Lunca (opens in a new tab)
  142. UNESCO World Heritage 806, Hallstatt-Dachstein (opens in a new tab)
  143. Phys.org/AFP (2018), Salt in the Alps: Hallstatt Bronze Age finds (opens in a new tab)
  144. Natural History Museum Vienna, Hallstatt meat processing (opens in a new tab)
  145. Wikipedia, Bad Reichenhall (opens in a new tab)
  146. Wikipedia, Discourses on Salt and Iron (opens in a new tab)
  147. Wikipedia, Via Salaria (opens in a new tab)
  148. Amusing Planet, Pre-Inca salt pools at Maras (opens in a new tab)
  149. France.fr, Salt of Guérande (English) (opens in a new tab)
  150. UNU Our World, Preserving Japan's sea salt-making tradition (opens in a new tab)
  151. UNESCO World Heritage 32, Wieliczka and Bochnia (opens in a new tab)
  152. Britannica, gabelle (opens in a new tab)
  153. Wikipedia, Economic history of Venice (opens in a new tab)
  154. IPS News (2019), Ethiopia's Afar salt trade (opens in a new tab)
  155. Britannica, Salt March (opens in a new tab)

This guide explains what the research says in plain words. It is general information, not medical or dietary advice.

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