FSSAI Standards For Edible Common Salt

Salt is a mineral composed mainly of sodium chloride (NaCl). It is essential for life in general, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. As per FSSAI edible common salt can further be classified into six types as mentioned below.

1. Edible Common Salt

Edible common salt is crystalline solid, white, pale pink or light grey in colour with the maximum moisture content of 6%. As per the FSSR Regulations, the sodium chloride content and matter soluble in water shall comply with the standards as mentioned in the table below. The insoluble content in common salt must not exceed 1.0 percent by weight on a dry basis

Period of Validity	Minimum percentage of sodium chloride content as NaCl (on dry basis)	Maximum Percentage of matter soluble in water other than sodium chloride(on dry basis)
Up to 31-3-1982	94.0	5.0
From 1-4-1982 to 31-3-1983	94.5	4.5
From 1-4-1983 to 31-3-1984	95	4.0
From 1-4-1984 to 31-3-1985	95	3.5
From 1-4-1985 onwards	96	3.0

If an anticaking is added to the salt it shall not exceed 2.2 percent and the sodium chloride content must not be less than 97.0 percent by weight.

2. Iodized salt– It is also a crystalline salt, white or pale pink or light grey in colour free from visible contamination fortified with iodine. It shall conform to the following standards as mentioned below: –

S.No.	Parameters	Standards
1.	Moisture	Not more than 6.0 per cent by weight of the undried sample.
2.	Sodium Chloride (NaCl)	Not less than 96.0 per cent by weight on a dry basis.
3	Matter insoluble in water	Not more than 1.0 per cent by weight on a dry basis
4	Matter soluble in water Other than Sodium Chloride	Not more than 3.0 per cent by weight on a dry basis
5	Iodine content at:
a.	Manufacture level	Not less than 30 parts per million on dry weight basis
b.	Distribution channel including retail level	Not less than 15 part per million on dry weight basis.

If an anticaking is added, it shall not exceed 2.2 percent and the sodium chloride content must not be less than 97.0 percent by weight.

3. Iron Fortified Common Salt: – As the name suggests, it is a crystalline salt, white or pale pink or light grey in colour and fortified with iron. It shall conform to the following standards as mentioned below: –

 

S.No.	Parameters	Standards
1.	Moisture	Not more than 5.0 per cent by weight
2.	Matter insoluble in water	Not more than 1.0 per cent by weight on a dry basis
3.	Sodium Chloride (NaCl)	Not less than 96.5 per cent by weight on a dry basis.
4.	Matter insoluble in dilute HCl	Not more than 3.0 per cent by weight on dry basis (to be determined by the method specified in IS 253- 1970).
5.	Matter soluble in water other than Sodium Chloride	Not more than 2.5 percent by weight on a dry basis
6.	Iron content (as Fe)	850-1100 parts per million.
a.	Phosphorous as Inorganic (PO4)	1500-2000 parts per million
b.	Sulphate as (SO4)	Not more than 1.1% by weight.
7.	pH value in 5% aqueous Solution	2-3.5
c.	Magnesium as (Mg) water-soluble	Not more than 0.10% by weight

4. Potassium Iodate: – It is a crystalline powder, white in colour free from impurities. It shall conform to the following standards :

S.No.	Parameters	Standards
1.	Potassium Iodate (as KIO3) percent by weight not less than]	99.0
2.	Solubility	Soluble in 30 parts of water
3.	Iodine (as I) percent by weight not more than	0.002
4.	Sulphate (as SO4) per cent by wt. not more than	0.02
5.	Bromate, bromide, chlorate & chloride percent by wt. not more than	0.01
6.	Matter insoluble in water percent by wt. not more than	0.10
7.	Loss on drying percent by wt. not more than	0.1
8.	pH (5 percent solution)	Neutral
9.	Heavy metal (as Pb) ppm not more than	10
10.	Arsenic (as As) ppm not more than	3
11.	Iron (as Fe) ppm not more than	10

5. Iron Fortified Iodized Salt (double fortified salt):

It is a crushed crystalline solid white or pale or pink or light grey in colour, free from contamination. The salt which is used for manufacturing shall have minimum 99% sodium chloride content on dry basis.

S.No.	Parameters	Standards
1.	Moisture	Not more than 1.5 per cent by weight
2.	Matter insoluble in water	Not more than 1.0 per cent by weight on dry basis
3.	Sodium Chloride (NaCl)	Not less than 97 per cent by weight on dry basis.
4.	Matter insoluble in dilute HCl	Not more than 0.3 per cent by weight on a dry basis
5.	Matter soluble in water other than Sodium Chloride	Not more than 2.5 per cent by weight on a dry basis
6.	Iron content (as Fe)	850-1100 parts per million.
	Manufacturers level	Not less than 30 parts per million
	Distribution Channel including Retail level	Not less than 15ppm
7.	Phosphorous as Inorganic (PO4)	Not more than 3100 parts per million
8.	Sulphate as (SO4)	Not more than 1.1% by Weight.
9.	Magnesium as (Mg) water soluble	Not more than 0.10% by weight

6. Salt Substitutes:

Potassium sulphate, calcium or ammonium salts, magnesium salts of adipic acid, glutamic acid can be used as salt substitutes. It may contain colloidal silica not more than 1 percent and diluents as sugar and cereal flour. The sodium content of salt substitutes shall be not more than 120 mg/100 g of the salt substitute mixture. Every package of a salt substitute shall declare “low sodium salt substitute” or “low sodium dietetic salt” and the number of cations (that is, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, ammonium, and choline/100 g (m/m) in the salt substitute mixture.

References: –

• FSSRs. (FOOD PRODUCTS STANDARDS & FOOD ADDITIVES) Regulation No. 2.9.30.pdf.Available at: https://old.fssai.gov.in/…/2%20Food%20Safety%20and%20Standards%20Food%20Pr….Accessible on:09.06.2019.