Not subject to the weather’s whims
In comparison to the long timeframe inherent in producing salt in salt pans, Tongxiao’s factory only needs eight to ten hours to produce clean salt crystals.
Bobby Chen points out that electrodialysis not only saves time and brings stability to production levels, it also allows for the removal of heavy metals, environmental hormones and plasticizers, thus enhancing food safety.
Lin explains that the factory’s advanced electrodialysis technology uses ion exchange membranes to produce salt. A meter-wide pipe brings in clean seawater from 1.56 kilometers off the coast and 12 meters deep. Through selective ion exchange, chlorine and sodium ions are drawn through the membranes to create a more concentrated solution. By repeating the process several times, the salt content can be raised from 3% to 21% before the solution is put into evaporation tanks to produce salt crystals.
Of course, in addition to filtering out impurities and heavy metals, this process also filters out some beneficial trace elements. Chen points out that in this age of refined foods, many people lack certain minerals in their diets. Consequently, Taiyen collects some of the beneficial minerals it takes out of the water and adds them back into the extracted salt so as to produce “refined sea salt.” “With the rise of consumer concerns about health, refined sea salt has already been replacing highly refined salt,” Chen says.
Since Taiwan allowed imports of salt in 2004, a remarkable variety of salts have entered the market. Although the Taiwanese people have a lot of choice, there are health concerns.
In 2014 the Ministry of Health and Welfare released research results about the iodine content of people’s urine in Taiwan. They discovered that many were deficient in the mineral. Iodine deficiency can lead to problems such as goiter or neurological deficits, and in pregnant women it can result in brain damage to the fetus.
Salt provides the perfect medium for adding iodine to the diet. Chen points out that back when Taiwan Salt built its Tongxiao factory, the potential to add iodine so as to prevent goiter was one of the considerations.
In addition to bringing greater attention to the benefits of fortifying salt with iodine, this year the ministry hopes to reduce the rate of dental cavities by adding fluoride to salt. In accordance with public health strategies, Taiyen will launch fluoridated salt later this year or early next year.
Taiyen Biotech’s salt factory at Tongxiao in Miaoli extracts salt from seawater by electrodialysis. The quality is high and the production levels stable. (courtesy of Taiyen Biotech)