Marisol Sea Salt – Projects

To enable us to market sustainably produced, safe natural sea salt we have made innovations to the way we process our artisanal product.

Artisan salt gathering and food safety

Objectives

To innovate the processing of hand harvested sea salt and add commercial value to it, by implementing a HACCP-based food quality and safety system.

Project summary

We built a specific transformation unit where both Flor de Sal (flower of sea salt) and Sal Marinho Tradicional (traditional sea salt) are cleaned from impurities, processed and packed, while complying with the legal standards for food safety, and without changing the salt's organoleptic qualities (taste, sight, smell, touch).

A monitoring programme was established for analysing physical, chemical and microbiological parameters of the salt, as well as the waters and soils from where the product originates. The project also included the certification of the newly introduced processing method in accordance with the international standard ISO 22000:2005, based on the implementation of an HACCP system (Hazard analysis and critical control points). ISO was replaced in 2013 by IFS Food version 6.

Results

Our innovative project for processing artisanal sea salt was completed in September 2011 with these results:

  • Salt processing and related operations optimised
  • Production capacity significantly increased
  • Compliance with food quality and safety standards maximised
  • Turnover total and per country increased
  • Expansion into new markets
  • Knowledge and know-how of employees increased

Full text on the conclusion of the project (English PDF)

Project funding

Co-financed by the PO Algarve 21 programme.

Salt transformation