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Condiments & seasonings · Product label guide

Salt: compare ingredients, then choose.

Updated

Compare sea, mineral, flake, and flavored salts, including iodine and anti-caking ingredients.

The short answer

Our picks for salt

Top of the shelf365 by Whole Foods Market Coarse Kosher Sea Salt, Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt Flakes, and H-E-B Sea Salt each score 100/100. 53 products tie at 100; these 3 have the shortest labels. Use Compare by in the table to separate the rest.

Also strongLa Baleine Kosher Sea Salt (100), Maldon Sea Salt Flakes (100), and Member's Mark Sea Salt (100).

Clear noSan Juan Island Sea Salt French Fry Blend (lists MSG). We also can’t vouch for the 51 products without a verified current label; treat them as “not yet”.

Ranked from 54 of 105 products with current labels. Every product is in the table below; a score reflects labels and claims, not nutrition, allergies or safety.

Compare the recorded labels

Find the ingredients that matter to you.

105 of 105 products

“No …” columns: None found on the label · Listed on the label · Unknown. Diet fit: Fits · Doesn’t fit · Unknown (rules; not medical advice). Claims: verified · not established. Default: most check marks first; not a health score.

Compare product claims and recorded ingredients. Click a column heading to sort.
Buy
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableFind where to buy ↗Product details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableFind where to buy ↗Product details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableFind where to buy ↗Product details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableFind where to buy ↗Product details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableFind where to buy ↗Product details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableBuy on Amazon ↗Product details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableFind where to buy ↗Product details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
100 / 1009 of 9 groups clear · organic not applicableProduct details →4
How the clean score works

No setup needed, and strict: a full 100 needs every additive group clear and a verified organic claim (animal foods also need a verified grass-fed or pasture-raised claim; wild seafood and salt, which have no USDA organic standard, are scored without the organic points, and plant-based milks, cheeses and proteins without the feeding claim). Points: the nine additive groups (seed oils, artificial dyes, MSG, artificial sweeteners, carrageenan, artificial preservatives, hydrogenated oils, corn syrups, banned-abroad additives) share 60 points equally — not found earns a group’s full share, “may contain” earns half, listed earns 0; a verified organic claim is worth 25; a verified grass-fed or pasture-raised claim is worth 15 and counts only for animal foods. No claim, or an expired or unverified claim, earns nothing, so products without those claims cannot reach 100. Unverified or expired ingredient labels receive no score. Equal scores are equal. Ties are ordered by brand. Unknown and stale evidence never passes “Only show matches.” Producer claims and prices do not affect this score. This is not a nutrition, allergy, or safety rating.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Buying links do not influence ingredient results. “Buy on Amazon” opens a reviewed product listing; “Find where to buy” opens the maker’s page. Confirm the package, seller, stock, and current price before checkout. Price observations expire after 30 days.

The full guide · Condiments & seasonings

Choosing salt: what to check before you buy

Choose salt by crystal size, whether it is iodized and how you will use it. Fine salt, coarse kosher salt and finishing flakes can measure differently by volume, so use weight or the recipe’s named salt for a closer match.

Check anti-caking ingredients and any herbs, smoke flavor or other seasonings. Sea, pink and flake salts are not automatically iodized or lower in sodium; read the exact label before substituting.

What the labels on this shelf show

We track 105 products from 24 brands on the salt shelf. 54 have a complete, current ingredient label on record (51%), which is what lets us score them. The other 51 stay unscored until the maker publishes a full label; a missing label is “not yet”, never a pass.

Of the 54 scored labels, 53 (98%) list none of the nine additive groups we check. The group that appears most is MSG, listed on 1 label. None of the scored products carries a verified organic claim, which is why scores cluster below 100. Scores here run from 89 to 100, and the typical label lists 4 ingredients.

What to compare

Crystal size
Match the recipe’s salt or measure by weight when substituting.
Iodized or not
Look for an explicit iodized statement; specialty salts are not automatically iodized.
Added ingredients
Check anti-caking agents and flavorings according to your preference.
Amount and sodium
Compare the stated weight and sodium rather than assuming a salt color means less sodium.

The best picks, in detail

These are the highest-scoring salt products on current labels. 53 products tie at 100, so we put the shortest ingredient lists first; Always match the exact flavor and package before you buy.

  1. 365 by Whole Foods Market Coarse Kosher Sea Salt 100/100

    Why it ranks here: no tracked additive group on the label, no verified organic claim. Label: “SEA SALT.”

    Maker’s label source

  2. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt Flakes 100/100

    Why it ranks here: no tracked additive group on the label, no verified organic claim. Label: “SALT”

    Maker’s label source

  3. H-E-B Sea Salt 100/100

    Why it ranks here: no tracked additive group on the label, no verified organic claim. Label: “SEA SALT.”

    Maker’s label source

  4. La Baleine Kosher Sea Salt 100/100

    Why it ranks here: no tracked additive group on the label, no verified organic claim. Label: “SEA SALT.”

    Find where to buy ↗Maker’s label source

  5. Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 100/100

    Why it ranks here: no tracked additive group on the label, no verified organic claim. Label: “SEA SALT FLAKES”

    Buy on Amazon ↗Maker’s label source

  6. Member's Mark Sea Salt 100/100

    Why it ranks here: no tracked additive group on the label, no verified organic claim. Label: “SEA SALT.”

    Maker’s label source

What to skip, and why

These scored products list at least one group on their current label. That is the clearest reason to pass if you are avoiding those ingredients.

The 51 products without a verified label are a separate “not yet”: we have no recorded ingredient list to check, so we cannot say they are clean or flagged.

Your preferences, explained

The clean score is strict and needs no setup: nine additive groups not found in a current ingredient statement, plus a verified organic claim (and a grass-fed or pasture-raised claim for animal foods), are needed for 100; a possible match earns half and a missing claim earns nothing. Missing or expired evidence stays unknown. It does not assess nutrition, allergies, contaminants, or safety.

References

  1. How much sodium should I eat per day? American Heart Association
  2. Iodine fact sheet for consumers NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
  3. Salt and sodium Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  4. Sodium in your diet U.S. Food and Drug Administration

An ingredient check is not a nutrition, contaminant, allergy or safety assessment. How we verify labels →

Watch

The video about this page

Sea Salt vs Table Salt: Same Sodium, Different LabelSea salt and table salt are both mostly sodium chloride, so the sodium is about the same. The differences are on the label: iodine and anti caking agents. We read 54 current salt labels, 53 of which score 100, and show why sea salt appears on 1,085 labels (as of October 2026).Watch on YouTube · The Short: Pink Salt vs Sea Salt: The Minerals Are Tiny

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