Hebridean sea salt? Take it with a pinch of, well, salt
‘Authentic’ product made of 80pc foreign TABLE seasoning Er, did they forget something?
‘In the public interest to disclose issues’
IT was once celebrated as the must-have ingredient for food lovers all over the country.
But the credibility of a firm supplying ‘pure as nature’ Hebridean sea salt lay in ruins last night after food standards officials revealed it is made up almost entirely of ‘imported table salt’.
Hebridean Sea Salt, owned by mother-of-three Natalie Crayton, billed its produce as being ‘hand-harvested’ from picturesque Loch Erisort on the Isle of Lewis.
Last year, it won a £180,000 deal with Sainsbury’s, was sold in Waitrose and Co-op stores and planned a £250,000 expansion.
But in February, Food Standards Scotland (FSS) launched an investigation into the company after a former employee claimed the product was not wholly sourced from the Hebrides. Miss Crayton, 35, claimed FSS ‘destroyed’ her business over what she claimed was a minor ‘labelling issue’.
Her remarks prompted FSS to reveal details of its probe. In a statement yesterday, it said: ‘We would not normally disclose the details of an active investigation.
‘However, given the coverage of this case, we believe it is now in the public interest to disclose the issues under investigation.
‘This is not simply a case of mis-labelling. Investigations discovered that more than 80 per cent of the salt found in Hebridean Sea Salt did not originate in the Hebrides but was imported table salt.
‘It is Food Standards Scotland’s view that, while this is not a food safety issue, deception of consumers on this scale is not acceptable and could damage Scotland’s well-deserved reputation for high quality, authentic food and drink products.’
Yesterday, the doors to Miss Crayton’s premises at rented units in Habost on Lewis were left open, although nobody was around.
Pallets with 25kg bags marked table salt, from a well-known retailer which also deals in road salt, were visible.
In a newspaper interview this week, Miss Crayton, a graduate in marine resource management from Aberdeen University, insisted: ‘This is not a food safety issue – it is a labelling issue, which had been resolved.
‘The salt I added is pure foodgrade sea salt with no additives.
‘Yet my business has been destroyed by the behaviour of Food Standards Scotland.’
She says she had to give all her stock to officers who arrived at her premises after the tip-off to Western Isles Council.
Miss Crayton also claims she was told to recall her products from supermarkets, leaving her with a huge debt she was unable to pay.
Since the business shut, she says she has started claiming benefits to provide for her children.
It comes just months after FSS released a report stating Dunsyre Blue cheese, made by Lanarkshire firm Errington Cheese, was the source of a deadly E.coli outbreak that killed a three-year-old girl.
The company disputed the findings, insisting the source of the infection was ‘not established’.
Hebridean Sea Salt, which was launched six years ago, could now face legal action to recover public funding if it ceases trading.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise gave Hebridean Sea Salt £147,405 in grants over five years. It recently confirmed ‘grants may be partly or fully recoverable if the recipient ceases to trade’.
The business also received assistance from the Prince’s Trust and the Scottish Edge entrepreneurial fund, plus £180,000 from private investors and the Bank of Scotland.
Nobody answered the door at Miss Crayton’s home address.