Morton Salts and Costco Pink Salt are safe and approved for consumption. 

Salt, one of the most common ingredients in almost every food and is available in the kitchen, has been a matter of concern for the consumers. Some recent social media posts had claimed that brands like Morton Kosher salts and Costco Himalayan Pink Salt contain anticaking agents and heavy metals which are poisonous and harmful for human consumption. 

Social media users claimed that Morton is a highly processed salt which contains only sodium chloride. It devoids of other essential minerals like calcium and potassium. They also add an anticaking agent in the salt which is actually ferrocyanide, a poison. Costco Pink Salt contains much higher levels of heavy metal contamination which includes Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic and Mercury and is harmful for human consumption

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Fact Check- 

Morton Kosher Salt primarily contains Sodium Chloride and is not enriched with other minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, iodine or iron. It also contains a small amount of an anti-caking agent Sodium Ferrocyanide, also mentioned in the viral video. 

You can read the detailed nutrition facts of the product here. 

Is Sodium Ferrocyanide Poisonous?

According to the National Institute of Health, ferrocyanides like sodium, potassium and calcium ferrocyanide are used in salts as anti-caking agents which helps salt granules from clumping together and ensures that the salt falls freely when poured. 

EFSA re-evaluated the ferrocyanide compounds as it is consumed by people mainly through salts. The study found that people including children consume only a tiny amount of ferrocyanides from salt, about 0.003 mg per kilogram of body weight each day. Ferrocyanides are hardly absorbed by the body and it does not accumulate in the tissues. Tests showed that ferrocyanides do not cause cancer or damage genes. In long-term animal studies only kidneys were seen to be affected that also at a very high dose of 4.4 mg/kg/day. 

After observing the above facts, EFSA set 0.03 mg of ferrocyanides per kg of body weight as Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) value. This means that the small amounts used in salt are well within safe levels and are not harmful.

In a discussion about the use of ferrocyanides in salts in the European Parliament, the EU responded that this additive had been evaluated and an ADI of 0.025 mg/kg of body weight was set in 1991. This level of intake would only be reached by eating around 75 g of salt for adults or 19 g for children, which is far more than daily consumption. As the actual exposure level is far below the threshold limit, the commission saw no need to ban it. 

Does Costco’s Kirkland Himalayan Pink Salt contain heavy metals and is harmful? 

Kirkland Signature is Costco’s private label brand. It includes a wide range of products from groceries and clothing to household goods. 

Mamavation, a consumer watchdog community for moms who desire to purchase non-toxic products commissioned an independent EPA certified lab to test 23 different salt products including Himalayan Pink Salt to trace the presence of heavy metals like lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury etc. The results showed that all the salts contained trace amounts of heavy metals, but the levels were below U.S. Federal Safety Limits. Some Himalayan salts, including those from brands like Kirkland (Costco), had slightly higher levels of lead and arsenic compared to refined table salt but they are within the safety limits. In tests conducted by Mamavation, all Himalayan salt samples contained arsenic, 70% had cadmium, and 96% had lead. 

While trace heavy metals are present in all types of salt, including pink Himalayan salt, the levels are currently considered safe.

Conclusion: 

Fact Crescendo found the claim to be false. Although Morton contains an anticaking agent and Costco’s Pink salt contains heavy metals, the amount of these ingredients are far below than the safety limits. So the salt of these two brands are safe to consume.