Food salt
Food salt is an essential ingredient in virtually every food product. Whether you are baking bread, curing meat, preserving fish or seasoning dishes in a professional kitchen, the quality and purity of the salt partly determine the flavour, shelf life and texture of your end product. Nederlandse Zouthandel supplies food salt in food grade quality to bakeries, butchers, fish processors, catering businesses, caterers and wholesalers, as well as to private customers who value pure, reliable salt in their kitchen.
What is food salt?
Food salt is sodium chloride (NaCl) that has been specially produced and certified for human consumption and for use in food production. The salt meets European food grade quality requirements. Food salt can be supplied in pure form or with additives such as iodine, fluoride or anti-caking agents, depending on the application. Purity is typically 99.5% to 99.9% NaCl, with strict control of heavy metal and insoluble matter content.
Applications of food salt
Food salt is used in virtually every link of the food chain. In bakeries, salt plays a dual role: it flavours the bread while simultaneously regulating yeast activity and dough structure. For industrial bakeries and artisan bakers, fine food salt with a consistent grain size is essential for an even distribution in the dough and reproducible baking results.
In butchers and meat processing companies, food salt is used for curing, drying and preserving meat products. Curing salt and nitrite curing salt (NCS) are the standard here, depending on the end product. For the production of raw ham, dry sausage, smoked meat products and cooked products, we supply salt in various grain sizes, tailored to the curing process (dry curing, wet curing or injection curing).
Fish processors and fishing companies use food salt for pickling, drying and preserving fish such as herring, salmon, cod and anchovies. Coarse sea salt and specialist fishery salt are suitable for the traditional gutting and salting of herring, while finer salt is used for smoked and marinated products.
In hospitality, catering and professional kitchens, food salt is used daily for preparing and seasoning dishes, making brine and marinade baths, and cooking pasta, vegetables and sauce water. For wholesalers and foodservice suppliers, we supply food salt in packaging suitable for direct delivery to restaurants and kitchens.
We also serve producers of ready meals, sauces, soups, snacks, cheese and dairy products, where food salt functions as a flavour carrier, preservative and technological auxiliary in fermentation and coagulation processes.
Quality, purity and certification
In the food industry, food safety is non-negotiable. Our food salt meets the strict requirements arising from European Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 on food additives and the relevant quality standards for foodstuffs.
Purity is at least 99.5% NaCl, and for vacuum salt at least 99.9% NaCl. Heavy metal content is well below legal limits: arsenic, copper, lead, cadmium and mercury are controlled per batch. Moisture content is low, typically below 0.5%, and grain size is available in various fractions, from very fine (powder salt) to coarse (sea salt crystals).
Our products are supplied under recognised food safety certifications, including FSSC 22000, IFS Food, BRCGS and GMP+. For specific markets, Kosher and Halal certified variants are also available. Upon request, each delivery is accompanied by a Certificate of Analysis (CoA) with the batch data.
At Nederlandse Zouthandel we are happy to advise you on which type of salt is best suited for your process.