Polish health authorities are recalling more than 500,000 pounds of bread, pickles, and other foods that may contain road salt. Three companies in western and northern Poland are suspected of selling the salt to facilities. A criminal investigation has been launched and five people have been arrested so far. The food producers have been ordered to make sure that any food that may have been manufactured using the salt doesn’t leave their warehouses.
The salt used on roads to de-ice isn’t the same thing as rock salt you use to make ice cream. Rock salt is sodium chloride that has been purified. Road salt is unpurified and is mixed with chemicals such as ferric ferrocyanide. It can contain many unsafe compounds, including heavy metals and dioxin.
Lab tests have found that the levels of dioxin and other harmful chemicals in the road salt sold in Poland aren’t in the food in high enough concentration to cause harm. But the country is recalling the food out of an abundance of caution.
Poland produces eggs, meat, apples, beets, and preserved foods. The salt may have been used to make pickles, pickled beets, sauerkrauts, sausages, baked goods, and other products.
The Czech Republic has temporarily banned the import of edible salt products from Poland. Germany hasn’t issued an official warning, but that may happen.
