Police in Beijing and Jiangsu Province recently raided a mini-factory in Beijing, which they said was producing 20,000 tons of toxic industrial salt as table salt for seven cities and provinces.

 

The producer sold the re-packaged industrial salt as edible salt to wholesalers. Hidden in trunks and stored in suitcases, the "fake salt" was sold in Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Henan, Hebei, Anhui and Shandong, the report added.

 

Tests conducted by Taizhou authorities showed traces of nitrate, which is used as an additive and preservative in meat products.

 

The excessive intake of nitrite is considered toxic and 20,000 tons constitutes the annual consumption of Taizhou's 5 million residents, Zhou Lvgang, deputy director of Taizhou's Salt Administration Bureau.

 

The average salt intake of an urban Chinese resident is 10.3 grams per day, far exceeding the World Health Organization's recommended amount of six grams, according to a 2013 report of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 

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