Table Salt Turns Pink..any Chemists Out There?

[gabby]

Hi,

This isn't a gluten question...but I was hoping that any chemists out there could help me unravel a salt mystery! I'm in Croatia for a little while, and have been using a store-bought brand of regular iodized table salt which is also supposed to be sea salt. Yesterday, I sifted about a cup of the salt and noticed that these little square crystals were left behind in the sifter. I threw these square crystals out, and left the remaining salt in a clean and dry bowl on the counter. Now, 24 hours later, the salt has turned pink! Like a pastel-pink, with a little tiny bit actually turning dark purple.

Does anybody know what's happening?

Thanks for your help!

[Jestgar]

iodine and starch?

[gabby]

Could be... I'll keep digging on this. I've used several boxes of this salt and never had this happen before..until I sifted out those square crystals. I'm guessing I sifted out something that keeps the iodine from reacting with other things.

I'm sure it is normal...just thought I'd check and see what's up!

[ravenwoodglass]

Could be... I'll keep digging on this. I've used several boxes of this salt and never had this happen before..until I sifted out those square crystals. I'm guessing I sifted out something that keeps the iodine from reacting with other things.

I'm sure it is normal...just thought I'd check and see what's up!

I'm not so sure it's normal.I would call the company that made it and see if they can tell you what happened. I do know I wouldn't use it. Perhaps your local high school science teacher or someone at the Health Dept might have some idea.

There is pink salt but it is pink when you buy it.

[gabby]

I'll keep digging...and post a follow up. I've heard that it could be chlorine reacting with the iodine; I have noticed a distinct chlorine smell to the tap water lately (maybe they are adding more chlorine to the water due to the spring run-off of melting snow and ice). But I'll check it out.

thanks for your help!

[larry mac]

...... I'm in Croatia for a little while, and have been using a store-bought brand of regular iodized table salt which is also supposed to be sea salt......

Don't know much about Croatia, but over here table salt is absolutely the most inexpensive food item there is. Maybe bulk water is cheaper. I'd just throw it out and get some more.

Secondly, and again they may do things differently there, but here there is regular table salt, which contains iodine, and then there is sea salt, which is only pure sea salt. I've never heard of a salt being both. Perhaps they don't have immense underground salt deposits there and must use sea salt for everything.

best regards, lm

[larry mac]

Just now I was at Walmart and lo & behold what did I see? Iodized sea salt!

What a coincidence. I wasn't even looking for salt. It just happenned to be on the shelf next to the sugar (which I needed) and I noticed it. There was regular sea salt, and the iodized sea salt. Both were in the old fashoined cylindrical salt containers, about 4-5 inches in diameter, and about 7-8 inches tall. Use to be sea salt only came in fancier containers. Maybe I just haven't kept up with salt advances in Walmart. It's something that last a very long time, and I hardly ever buy it.

Now margarita salt, that's a different story. I use a lot of it, and buy it all the time.

Anyway, I did buy some of the sea salt (un-iodized).

best regards, lm

[gabby]

I went looking for un-iodized sea salt...and couldn't find any. So I threw out the old box of salt, and bought a new one. It looks okay to me. I had been cooking broccoli and cauliflower the other day when I was using the 'pink' salt.....and I had the salt in a bowl so I could just add pinches of salt as I was cooking (sea salt is sticky). I probably got cauliflower juice or broccoli bits into the salt bowl and I'm guessing there was some sort of reaction from that.

I'm going to declare this case closed and move on. There's lots more interesting things to explore in this country besides the salt ;-)

thanks again!

[larry mac]

Thus the salt shaker was invented!

best regards,lm