Food Grade Salt & Animal Feed Salt
Food Grade Salt
People need salt in their daily diet in order to live. Since the human body is not capable of producing its own salt, we depend upon the various sources of salt in food to ensure our necessary daily intake. Salt for human consumption is produced in a variety of ways. Our ‘Salt production’ section will tell you more.
In Europe, around 7% of all salt produced is food grade salt. Our ‘Salt and the body’ section provides further information and useful links, about why the human body needs salt to function properly.
Salt has an important technological role in the manufacture of many foods, so that in addition to its well known function as a preserver and a flavour enhancer, it is also fundamental to the consistency and texture of lots of our daily foods such as bread and cheese. In bread production for example, salt serves to soften up the dough, stops it sticking together and controls the fermentation; this is important in ensuring the quality of the finished product.
For further information please see our position paper:
Animal Feed Salt
Animals also require salt to keep them healthy. The right salt intake ensures they grow well, and have strong immune and reproductive systems. Often agricultural animals and commercial livestock do not receive enough salt from foraging and other feeds and for that reason it is necessary to supplement their diet with salt. Interestingly tests show that animals have a natural finite appetite for salt meaning they eat only what they need.
Since animals will naturally eat salt, it can be often used as a carrier for other essential trace minerals that are also vital to health. These trace minerals are iron, copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, iodine and selenium. Different levels of various minerals are added to salt for specific and different situations.
Whilst acute trace mineral deficiency is relatively easy to identify, a major issue for farmers is in spotting when animals are suffering from relatively small deficiencies. The Salt Institute in America summarises it as follows, “In this instance the farmer will probably not see specific symptoms that are characteristic of a trace mineral deficiency. Instead, the animal grows or reproduces at a reduced rate, uses feed less efficiently and operates with a depressed immune system. The end result is inefficient production and lower profitability.”
Salt is provided to animals in different ways but predominately as salt blocks which the animal licks, or loose salt that is mixed directly into the feed.