Bulk Sea Salt

Certifications & Compliance

The certifications, records, and test reports listed below are available depending on product, origin, format, and lot.

• Organic Status: Salt is a mineral and is not eligible for organic certification under the National Organic Program, though it is permitted as a nonagricultural ingredient in certified organic formulations.
• Kosher Certification: Available for plain, iodized, and treated grades, with certificates issued at the packing facility.
• Halal Certification: Available for the full grade range.
• Non-GMO Documentation: Available for plain grades, and for iodized grade subject to the origin of the dextrose stabilizer.
• Gluten-Free and Allergen Statement: Confirms no gluten and no Big 9 allergen content or cross-contact.
• Certificate of Analysis: Reports sodium chloride assay, moisture, water insoluble matter, and sieve analysis by lot.
• Product Specification Sheet: Defines the agreed grade, additive status, and tolerance range for supplier approval files.
• Heavy Metals Report: Covers arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and copper against Codex and Food Chemicals Codex limits.
• Iodine Assay: Issued for iodized lots to verify the declared fortification level at time of packing.
• Sieve Analysis and Grade Verification: Confirms particle distribution against the purchased mesh specification.
• Anticaking and Additive Declaration: States the agent used and its use level to support label and regulatory review.
• Microbiological Report: Available on request, though the low water activity of dried salt makes it a non-supporting matrix for microbial growth.
• Country of Origin Documentation: Identifies the harvest field and packing facility for customs and traceability files.
• Safety Data Sheet: Current SDS provided for receiving, handling, and site safety documentation.

Production & Sourcing

Sea salt supply is tied to climate rather than agronomy, so origin selection is driven by evaporation rate, seawater quality, and the length of the dry season at each field. Source86 works with solar fields in the Mediterranean basin, Iberia, Brazil, Mexico, and Australia because those regions combine high solar intensity, low rainfall during the harvest window, and established bulk export infrastructure. Splitting supply across the northern and southern hemispheres keeps material available year round, since the two harvest seasons fall on opposite halves of the calendar. Flake grade is drawn from separate pan crystallization facilities, since that structure cannot be produced by screening solar crystal.

1. Origin Selection: Fields are qualified on seawater intake quality, evaporation performance, contaminant history, and their ability to hold a consistent mineral profile across seasons.
2. Solar Concentration: Seawater is drawn into a series of shallow ponds where wind and sun raise brine density in stages, dropping calcium sulfate out of solution before sodium chloride begins to crystallize.
3. Crystallization and Harvest: Salt is allowed to build on the crystallizer floor through the dry season, then harvested mechanically and stacked to drain, with residual bittern removed to protect purity and flavor.
4. Washing and De-brining: Harvested crystal is washed in saturated brine to lift surface insolubles and residual magnesium salts, then centrifuged to reduce free moisture before drying.
5. Drying: Material is dried to the moisture level appropriate to its grade, with fine and powder grades taken lower than coarse to prevent caking during milling and storage.
6. Sizing and Form Split: The process divides at this point. Coarse is screened straight from harvested crystal, crystal and fine grades are milled and classified to mesh, powder is milled further, and flake grade is produced separately by crystallizing concentrated brine in shallow heated pans to form thin plates.
7. Fortification, Treatment, and Packing: Iodized material is dosed with potassium iodide and dextrose under in-line control, anticaking agents are applied where flow performance is specified, and finished product is metal-checked and packed with lot coding that traces back to the harvest field.

Applications

• Bakery and Milled Mixes: Fine and powder grades belong in bread, cracker, tortilla, and dry mix production where salt is added at the flour stage.
• Snack and Savory Seasoning: Flake and flour grades are used in chip, extruded snack, nut, and popcorn lines, both as standalone topical salt and as a component of seasoning blends.
• Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Processing: Fine and crystal grades are standard in curing, brining, marination, and further-processed protein systems.
• Cheese and Dairy Production: Crystal and fine grades are used in brine salting, dry salting of curd, and butter and spread manufacturing.
• Sauces, Soups, Dressings, and Condiments: Fine and powder grades are used across wet-fill lines and shelf-stable condiment production.
• Confectionery and Sweet Bakery Finishing: Flake and coarse grades are used in caramel, chocolate, and sweet baked applications where a visible salt inclusion is part of the product concept.
• Retail, Foodservice, and Grinder Packing: Coarse and crystal grades are packed for table salt, grinder refill, and foodservice programs under private label.

Funcionality

• Water Activity Reduction: Dissolves into the aqueous phase and lowers water activity, which slows microbial growth and supports shelf life in cured and intermediate-moisture products.
• Protein Extraction in Meat Systems: Solubilizes myofibrillar protein at brine strength, which improves water binding, bind between muscle pieces, and cook yield.
• Dissolution Rate Control: Surface area governs solution speed, so powder and fine grades dissolve almost immediately while coarse and crystal grades hold their structure through mixing and give a delayed release.
• Fermentation and Gluten Control: Moderates yeast activity and tightens the gluten network in dough, which regulates proof rate and improves handling on high-speed lines.
• Topical Adhesion: Flake and flour grades present a high surface-to-mass ratio that clings to oiled and moist surfaces, reducing fall-off compared with cubic crystal of the same weight.
• Dry-Blend Compatibility: Grade can be matched to the particle size and density of a carrier system to limit segregation during blending, transport, and discharge.
• Sodium Dose Control: Finer grades deliver perceived saltiness at lower inclusion weight because more surface dissolves on contact, which gives formulators a lever for sodium reduction without changing the ingredient.
• Flow and Metering Behavior: Treated grades hold free-flowing behavior through hoppers, augers, and volumetric feeders, while untreated grades are better suited to batch weighing or slurry addition.
• Freezing Point and Brine Depression: Depresses the freezing point in solution, which is useful in chilled brine circulation and frozen dessert and stabilizer systems.

Benefits for Commercial Manufacturing

• One Approved Material Across Five Grades: A single supplier qualification and one specification framework cover coarse through powder, which cuts the vendor approval work needed to change particle size.
• Iodization as a Specified Option: Fine grade is available plain or iodized from the same source, so table salt and industrial programs can run without a second supplier relationship.
• Anticaking Selected to the Line: Treatment status is set at order rather than assumed, which keeps clean-label formulations untreated while flow-critical dosing lines get the additive they need.
• Two-Hemisphere Supply Base: Northern and southern harvest windows fall at opposite times of year, which protects continuity when a single region loses a season to rainfall.
• Bulk and Bagged Formats: Totes suit high-volume automated dosing while lined bags suit batch weighing and smaller runs, so the pack format can follow the plant layout rather than the reverse.
• Documentation Built for Incoming Inspection: Sieve analysis and assay by lot let receiving verify grade against the purchase specification without sending material to an outside lab.
• Contaminant Records for Supplier Approval: Heavy metal reporting against recognized food grade limits supports supplier approval files and customer audit responses.
• Lot Traceability to Harvest Field: Coding ties finished packs back to the origin field and packing run, which shortens investigation time on a quality hold.
• Private Label and Grinder Programs: Coarse and crystal grades pack directly into retail and foodservice presentations, which supports finished-goods programs alongside ingredient supply.