Potassium Chloride & Sea Salt, Together at Last

The growth of new product offerings that include sea salt in the ingredient list is continuing to rise. Top categories that use sea salt include bakery, cereals, snacks, sauces and seasonings, and ready meals.¹ Cargill proprietary research shows that of U.S. households aware of sea salt, 84% would be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase a food product with sea salt rather than the same product with regular salt. ²

At the same time, consumers are looking to reduce their overall sodium intake. According to the International Food Information Council (IFIC), “Just over half of Americans (53%) are trying to limit or avoid sodium entirely, and of those that use the Nutrition Facts Panel to make food and beverage purchasing decisions, 95% find sodium information helpful.”²

Enter FlakeSelect® Potassium Chloride/Sea Salt. It is a precisely screened, compacted, food grade, odorless, white crystalline potassium chloride and Pacific Ocean sea salt that provides 50% less sodium by volume than regular salt and allows the addition of sea salt to the ingredient line. The blend can be used as a replacement for salt in food processing operations where sodium reduction is desired. FlakeSelect® Potassium Chloride/Sea Salt may help reduce sodium up to 50% while maintaining many of the functionalities of salt.

FlakeSelect® Potassium Chloride/Sea Salt is intended for a variety of food processing applications. This product can be used as a salt substitute in spices, seasonings, soup bases, gravy mixes, and meats; to top baked goods, crackers and snack foods; and to flavor and preserve cheese. FlakeSelect® Potassium Chloride/Sea Salt is available in four particle sizes: extra coarse, coarse, fine, and flour.

FlakeSelect® Potassium Chloride/Sea Salt is available in 50 pound poly lined paper bags for added moisture protection. It is also available in woven polypropylene mini-bulk bags with polyethylene liners. To improve caking resistance, the product should be stored in a dry, covered area. FlakeSelect® Potassium Chloride/Sea Salt contains no known allergens and exhibits virtually no microbiological activity.

Instead of blending sodium chloride and potassium chloride and having two distinct particles in a reduced sodium ingredient, Cargill’s patent-pending technology combines and agglomerates the ingredients. The result is FlakeSelect™, a compacted flake particle that is roughly 50% sea salt and 50% potassium chloride.

Growing demand for sodium reduction has prompted ingredient manufacturers to explore new technologies and solutions for different types of foods. The replacement of salt is demanding technically, but Cargill is up to the challenge and offers FlakeSelect® Potassium Chloride/Sea Salt, a premium ingredient that may help food formulators reduce sodium.

¹ Innova Market Insights, Innova Database, March 2015. https://cargillsaltinperspective.com/sea-salt-in-new-products/

² Cargill Proprietary Research³ International Food Information Council (IFIC) Food and Health Survey 2014