- Salt does not dissolve immediately, add excess to get desired taste
- World Health Organization recommends <5 g salt/day
- Average person consumes >2x recommended level
- High blood pressure, heart disease, kidney failure
- Incomplete blending
- Lack of adhesion to surfaces
- Does not interact well with flavors and oils
- Requires additives (anticaking agents)
Solution
- Make salt more flavorful
- Small, high surface ➔ fast dissolution
- MSU taste-testing confirmed superior salt flavor with less salt addition
- Make salt more effective
- Small size – Blends better with foods
- High surface area – Absorbs flavors & aromas
- Make salt more desirable
- 99.9+% purity
- No need for additives
- Economical, energy-efficient process ➔ Low Cost $$$
Market Segments Analysis
| Reduced-Salt | Processed Foods | Specialty Salts | Soaps & Cosmetics |
| Achieve flavor with less salt | Improve blending with other food components | High-purity markets, and markets where appearance is important | Bath salts and soaps, needs to blend with fragrances and oils |
| rapid dissolution in mouth when added to surface of food (snack chips, fries, etc.) | Small size, anti-caking character allows easy blending with cheeses, processed meats | Free from additives and snow-white appearance; desirable for high-end foods | High surface area for fragrance adsorption Less regulation, low-cost branding, marketing, and packaging |
| $620 – $1660/ton | $240 – $800/ton | $4900 – $9775/ton | $360 – $1500/ton |
| Sensory testing, and Temporal Dominance of Sensation – MSU | Cheese – UW Center for Dairy Research Meats – Vollwerth’s | Working with industry consultant | Product Testing – Handcrafted Soaps & Cosmetics Guild |
Competitive Landscape
| Morton Salt Co. Dendritic Salt | Cargill Alberger Salt | Table Salt | Polar Salt | |
| Crystal properties | Star-shaped hollow cubes | Coarse pyramid-shaped flakes | Medium-sized cubes | Fine, high-surface-area particles |
| Additives | Yes, crystal growth modifiers | No | Yes, free-flow agents | No |
| Taste | Immediate salt flavor; additives make less desirable for foods | Immediate salt flavor | delayed salt flavor, pervasive and overpowering over longer times | Immediate salt burst, enhances other flavors |
| Wholesale Price, per ton | $720 – $1,050 | $620- $1,660 | $118 – $270 | Production cost $75 – $100* |
| Energy use | 260 kW-hr/ton | 300 kW-hr/ton | 260 kW-hr/ton | 180-220 kW-hr/ton* |
Status of Technology
- Constructed dissolver, clarifier, crystallizer, decomposer, and filtration units at a pilot scale.
- Unit was tested at Michigan Tech University
- US Patent Issued, #11,932,551, “Salt Production by Hydrohalite Decomposition”
- Patent Cooperation Treaty Application Pending
- Unit currently at Chris Salt, ready to reconstruct and operate