The Baja Gold Difference

Less Sodium, More Valuable Minerals and Trace Elements

Industry Leading Mineral and Trace Element Nutrition

Baja Gold’s unique harvesting techniques and geological source result in the world’s most mineral-rich, naturally low sodium sea salt.  By switching from table salt, refined sea salt, or even earth ‘sea’ salt you’ll reduce your sodium intake and increase your valuable mineral and trace element nutrient intake.  Plus, your culinary creations will explode with flavors beyond just the bitter taste of sodium chloride.  That’s what makes Baja Gold the healthiest, most flavorful sea salt in the world.  

How do we know?  We complete third-party laboratory testing of Baja Gold on a regular basis to ensure we maintain a consistent range of sodium and mineral levels.  More on those below.  

Our competitors often publish their own analyses and specification sheets, providing insight into their sodium and mineral levels.  That is a great starting point to separate true mineral sea salts from ‘refined’ sea salts.

To make sure Baja Gold remains the leading unrefined mineral sea salt, we also periodically test competitive sea salts through third-party laboratories.  Most of the time these tests validate their posted specifications.  In some cases, they do show differences - both above and below posted specifications.

Importantly, we’ve yet to find or test a sea salt with a lower natural sodium level or higher macro and trace mineral levels than Baja Gold.  Read on to explore these in more detail.

Let's Talk About 'Salt'

‘Salt’ typically refers to Sodium Chloride, although the key element measured for nutritional content and laboratory analyses is actually ‘Sodium.’  

Baja Gold offers the lowest natural Sodium levels, typically ranging from 29.5% - 31.5%.  Standard table salts and refined sea salts are often as high as 38% - 39%.  Earth salts are typically 36 - 38% Sodium.  And lastly, leading ‘Gray’ unrefined sea salts are 33.5 - 35.5% Sodium.  You can confirm these values yourself by reviewing Nutritional Facts or posted Specification Sheets.

For quick reference, ‘Salt’ is calculated by multiplying Sodium by 2.54 to achieve Sodium Chloride. For more information on Sodium and Sodium Chloride, please visit here:  Sodium and Salt. Those values are also shown below.

Salt Type (Brand) Sodium Content Sodium Chloride Content
Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt 29.5 - 31.5% 75.0% - 80.0%
Grey Sea Salt (Celtic) 33.5 - 35.5% 85.0% - 90.0%
Ancient Earth Salt (Pink Himalayan, Redmond) 36.5 - 38.5% 92.5% - 97.5%
Refined Sea Salt (True Salt) 38.0 - 38.5% 97.0% - 98.0%
Refined Table Salt (Morton) 38.5 - 39.0% 98.0% - 99.0%

Mineral and Trace Element Content (Nutrients)

A key benefit of a lower Sodium sea salt is significantly greater Macro Minerals (such as Magnesium, Potassium, and Calcium) and Trace Minerals (such as Boron, Manganese, and Chromium).  Not only are all of nature’s minerals and trace elements present (90+!), they’re also in higher quantities than other sea salts:

Macro Minerals:

Magnesium Potassium Calcium Sulfur
8,000 - 14,000 ppm 6,000 - 10,000 ppm 3,000 - 6,000 ppm 6,000 - 10,000 ppm

Trace Minerals:

Boron Chromium Iron* Manganese Selenium Zinc
10 - 20 ppm 1 - 5 ppm 25 - 50 ppm 5 - 10 ppm 1 - 5 ppm 1 - 5 ppm

*On Iron:  Iron is available in nature’s perfect balance and proportion in Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt.  Earth salts typically have a significantly higher amount of Iron, resulting from mineral leaching over tens of thousands of years.  In fact, this is why Earth salts have their pink color.  Unfortunately, this is often a case of ‘too much of a good thing,’ as unbalanced Iron intake can have negative health impacts.  For optimal wellness, a balanced sea salt that best mimics the mineral composition of the ocean is recommended.  

Comparing Popular Sea Salts

The below table compares the Salt and Macro Mineral values from popular salts. Official posted specifications are used where available.  If a specification is not posted, a third-party laboratory test is provided.   

Is your salt not listed?  If you’re an interested customer or a brand, we’d be happy to test your salt with a third party laboratory.  Reach out to us at hello@bajagoldsaltco.com for more information.

Brand Salt Content Magnesium Potassium Calcium Data
Baja Gold Sea Salt 75.0% - 80.0% 8,000 - 14,000 ppm 6,000 - 10,000 ppm 3,000 - 6,000 ppm The Mineral Lab (Link)
Redmond Real Salt 98.3% 1,100 ppm 1,200 ppm 4,000 ppm Real Salt Data Sheet (Link)
Celtic Light Gray 84.9% 3,000 ppm 1,080 ppm 1,960 ppm Celtic Mineral Analysis (PDF Page 1)
Celtic Fine Ground 92.3% 4,960 ppm 1,080 ppm 2,130 ppm Celtic Mineral Analysis (PDF Page 3)
Maldon Sea Salt 90.0% 338 ppm 181 ppm 912 ppm Maldon Analysis (PDF)
True Salt 99.9% 220 ppm N/A 50 ppm True Salt Spec Sheet (PDF)
Saltverk 95.3% 2,990 ppm 1,230 ppm 2,050 ppm Saltverk Analysis (PDF)
Jacobsen Salt Co. 96.8% 967 ppm 670 ppm 3,830 ppm Jacobsen Analysis (PDF)
Crucial4 mSalt 84.1% 3,840 ppm 1,530 ppm 1,510 ppm Crucial4 mSalt Analysis (PDF)
Himalania Fine Pink Salt 95.6% 3,780 ppm 3,160 ppm 3,100 ppm Himalania Analysis (PDF)

*All listed brands are copyright their respective owners. Tests were completed from sealed retail bags purchased from leading national retailers or the brand's website. No further warranty or claims are made beyond posted lab results.

Key Takeaways

  • Processed table salts, pink earth salts, and unrefined sea salts offer different amounts of ‘Salt’ (Sodium Chloride) and minerals.  
  • The more processed and refined a salt is, the less valuable minerals and trace elements it will offer.  Often this is also correlated with the ‘Salt’ content (more Sodium Chloride, less minerals).
  • Unrefined sea salts (and sometimes pink earth salts) will have natural variation in their mineral content.  However, most salts have a consistent range that you can expect Salt, Minerals, and Trace Elements to test to.  
  • The healthiest option for a sea salt will combine low ‘Salt’ (Sodium Chloride) with consistently high Macro and Trace Mineral Nutrients. 
  • Amongst all known and researched salts, Baja Gold consistently offers the lowest ‘Salt’ content, the widest array of Minerals and Trace Elements, and the highest amounts (%s) of those Minerals and Trace Elements.  This is why we believe Baja Gold is the world’s healthiest, most flavorful sea salt.  Give our Mineral Sea Salt a try today!  
Mineral Sea Salt