# Label Oddity **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 7, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803 "2017-12-07T17:38:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/1 "2017-12-07T17:38:08Z")
I noticed this label on some Pink Himalayan Sea Salt at Costco and it got me to wondering. [https://www.flickr.com/photos/154105178@N03/shares/B7TNc4](https://www.flickr.com/photos/154105178@N03/shares/B7TNc4) If it’s the “Purest Salt” why isn’t it white? Shouldn’t pure NaCl crystals be white? On the other hand, if it has “rich and varying mineral content”, it’s not the purest salt in the world is it? Just wondering? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/2 "2017-12-07T18:01:26Z")
It’s classic puffery. Check this very topical article: > **["purest" is puffery and Himala- is too geographically descriptive to cause...](https://tushnet.blogspot.com/2016/06/purest-is-puffery-and-himala-is-too.html?m=1)** > > Sustainable Sourcing, LLC v. Brandstorm, Inc., 2016 WL 3064055, No. 12-cv-30093 (D. Mass. May 31, 2016)   The parties compete to se... ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/3 "2017-12-07T18:18:02Z")
Define “salt” ;). ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/4 "2017-12-07T18:25:10Z")
My link is broken, sorry: fixed ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/5 "2017-12-07T18:36:41Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > If it’s the “Purest Salt” why isn’t it white? Shouldn’t pure NaCl crystals be white? > > On the other hand, if it has “rich and varying mineral content”, it’s not the purest salt in the world is it? There are a [lot of salts that aren’t classic white sodium chloride;](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_(chemistry)#Color) a container of salt can have many different salts in it (with a variety of colors) while having very little of things in it that are not salts. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/6 "2017-12-07T18:44:58Z")
It’s true they don’t specify Sodium Chloride, so it could contain other salts as mentioned. But wouldn’t most folks imagine that “salt” in a cooking sense means NaCl? Kind of like the purest water in world and it’s brown. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/7 "2017-12-07T19:13:50Z")
They didn’t claim it was the purest salt in the world. They only said it was “…referred to as the purest salt in the world”. You can use that kind of gimmick on anything. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/8 "2017-12-07T19:17:55Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They didn’t claim it was the purest salt in the world. They only said it was “…referred to as the purest salt in the world”. You can use that kind of gimmick on anything. Oh, I guess that’s true isn’t it? GaryM ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/9 "2017-12-07T21:15:44Z")
Horrible kerning (or lack thereof) on that label. I wouldn’t buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/10 "2017-12-07T21:29:22Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Kind of like the purest water in world and it’s brown. Yes, and the fraction of that which is water is the purest water in the world. Mix salt and sand, and the fraction of the salt which is salt is the purest salt in the world. It goes in and out like anything. Can’t explain it. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/11 "2017-12-07T23:29:19Z")
I looked at my Trader Joe’s ‘Himalayan Sea Salt’ and it is from Pakistan, packaged in South Africa, for distribution to the US. I feel dirty now for owning such a wasteful journey of such a frivolous item. But boy howdy is it salty! ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/12 "2017-12-08T01:09:20Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > I looked at my Trader Joe’s ‘Himalayan Sea Salt’ and it is from Pakistan, packaged in South Africa, for distribution to the US. I feel dirty now for owning such a wasteful journey of such a frivolous item. But boy howdy is it salty! How many years ago was salt so precious that it was part of your pay? Now we spread it all over the roads several months if the year. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/13 "2017-12-08T02:24:03Z")
What part of the Himalayas is the heart? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/14 "2017-12-08T13:55:01Z")
I pay extra for organic salt. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/15 "2017-12-08T14:10:23Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > If it’s the “Purest Salt” why isn’t it white? Shouldn’t pure NaCl crystals be white? [The pink is rust](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=687727). ([Bonus thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=812042).) ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/16 "2017-12-08T16:34:17Z")
Great link, thanks. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/17 "2017-12-08T19:47:30Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I pay extra for organic salt. Not me. Give me the cheap, steroid and antibiotic laden kind. It’s my healthcare plan. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/18 "2017-12-09T01:58:59Z")
“Referred to” shoulda tipped you off right off the bat. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/19 "2017-12-09T02:56:21Z")
Well, from now on it will. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/20 "2017-12-09T16:30:04Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > I looked at my Trader Joe’s ‘Himalayan Sea Salt’ and it is from Pakistan, packaged in South Africa, for distribution to the US. I feel dirty now for owning such a wasteful journey of such a frivolous item. But boy howdy is it salty! Of course it’s salty. Look how much ocean it had to cross to get from the mine to you. It absorbs extra saltiness from all the sea air. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803.md?page=2)