Humans shouldn't eat Redmond Agriculture’s livestock salt because there are significant differences in the production standards that apply to food-grade and agricultural-grade salt.
Sometimes customers ask us about replacing their food-grade Real Salt with the animal-grade salt available through Redmond Agriculture. We understand the interest and desire to save money, but feeding agricultural-grade salt to your family is not the same as choosing between name-brand or store-brand flour. It’s more like the difference between a bag of cornmeal you’d find in the grocery store compared to a bag of animal corn from the local feed store.
Redmond’s agricultural and food-grade salts do come from the same mineral deposit, but NOT from the same veins, and they are harvested, milled, stored, and packaged differently to comply with each industry’s respective standards. From mine to table, Redmond Life takes great care to harvest Real Salt by following food-grade standards intended for human use.
Extraction Differences
As with all subterranean salt deposits, the Redmond deposit contains natural mineral variation throughout and a wide spectrum of trace minerals. Real Salt is harvested from an area of the mine with a higher salt-to-mineral ratio that matches USDA food-grade salt standards. Our industrial and agricultural salts are harvested from areas with higher trace mineral content.
Real Salt is harvested from the mine using a food-grade, carbide-tipped rotary head that grinds the salt off the walls before it is scooped up and sent to our food-grade mill in a stainless steel-lined dump truck used exclusively for food-grade salt.
The agricultural- and industrial-grade salts are extracted using localized ammonium nitrate explosives, as per their industry standards.
Crushing and Screening Differences
Our food-grade salt is milled inside an entirely enclosed, stainless steel system to protect it from potential contaminants. The salt is crushed into different granule sizes and run through a series of magnets and a metal detection system to ensure no slivers from the equipment get into the food-grade salt. Real Salt does not undergo any processing other than crushing and screening.
Redmond agricultural- and industrial-grade salt is milled and processed differently from Real Salt, using mild steel (non-food grade) equipment appropriate to their industry standards. Some agricultural and industrial products also undergo further processing (such as moisture removal and/or vitamin fortification for specific livestock species).
Storage and Packaging Differences
Real Salt is stored entirely indoors in new, food-grade super bags until they are sent to a clean room for packaging. Our clean room complies with state and federal cleanliness standards, which require hair and beard nets, handwashing, powder-free nitrile food-grade gloves, food-grade lubricants, and more. This facility is registered with the FDA and the State of Utah and is subject to regular food safety audits by these organizations and others.
Bags from the food-grade mill are loaded into stainless steel machines that fill and seal smaller bags or shakers without anything else, or anyone else, ever touching the salt. Any salt that spills is cleaned up and discarded or sent to become agricultural- or industrial-grade salt. The machines that package Real Salt do not package any other products.
In contrast, agricultural salt is stored in open bins under coverings to protect it from precipitation. Its packaging system uses agricultural-grade (non-stainless steel) equipment and is not completely sealed off like the food-grade facility.
Summary
Redmond is proud to offer a wide array of salt and clay products for humans, animals, plants, soil, road safety, and industrial uses. We take great care to harvest, process, and package each product according to their specific industry guidelines to ensure that each customer gets the best product for their needs. Even though they come from the same deposit, you should use each of our products for the intended consumer and save the Real Salt for yourself, friends, and family.