Hebridean sea salt’s all the rage... but is some of it made in ISRAEL?
Probe into provenance of artisan seasoning
IT is the must-have gourmet ingredient found in some of the country’s top kitchens.
Promising to be ‘hand-harvested’ from picturesque Loch Erisort on the Isle of Lewis, it has won awards and supermarket supply deals.
However, the maker of Hebridean Sea Salt has found itself in hot water amid claims its ‘pure, natural and unrefined’ product is not wholly sourced from the Hebrides – or even Scotland.
Western Isles Council launched an investigation last month into the provenance of the artisan salt – a favourite of Michelin-starred Gleneagles chef Andrew Fairlie – after receiving a tip-off from a former employee.
Now The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal the probe centres on an extraordinary accusation that the product is bulked out with salt shipped in from Israel.
Last night managing director Natalie Crayton maintained the company had done nothing wrong and was simply following ‘industry practice’.
Production continues at the Isle of Lewis factory, but new labels suggest an attempted back-track on the source of the salt since the investigation began.
The original packaging stated: ‘Our sea salt is hand-harvested using the simplest of recipes: Hebridean sea water, heat and time. Nothing added, nothing removed – creating pure white crunchy sea salt crystals that melt in the mouth.’
The new labels, which can be peeled off to read the original mission statement, do not mention where the salt comes from and instead only say: ‘Our sea salt is hand-harvested, creating pure white crunchy sea salt crystals that melt in the mouth.’
The new labels can be found on bags of the sea salt flakes on sale on the Isle of Lewis, but the MoS found the original product for sale in Waitrose on Glasgow’s Byres Road still claiming to be ‘harvested from the shores of the remote Scotpans, tish island’. Environmental health officers contacted the firm in February after being passed information by a former member of staff.
The MoS understands investigators seized a quantity of the salt and have been interviewing staff and suppliers.
A source close to the investigation said: ‘The product trades on the good name of the Hebrides, which is a unique selling point, but it has been claimed salt from Israel has been added to the mix. It has been claimed this happened when demand got very high, to help them meet that demand.
‘The investigation is still ongoing and if evidence is found that it has been wrongly marketed it could be passed to the procurator fiscal as possible food fraud.’
Miss Crayton, a graduate in marine resource management from Aberdeen University, told the MoS: ‘These accusations have come from a disgruntled ex-employee. We produce our salt from Hebridean sea water in the Hebrides.
‘We add a small amount of salt to the water when boiling. It is an industry practice to add a small amount of salt – other salt firms have done it for years.
‘This is a business I have worked so hard to build up and I am very upset by all this… but that’s the Western Isles for you.
‘I have not heard anything from Western Isles Council in almost three weeks. I don’t know what is going on with the investigation.’
When asked if she had used salt from Israel, she replied: ‘No.’
Hebridean Sea Salt was formed six years ago – ‘with the ethos of creating a sustainable product from the Hebrides’ – and has become a well-known brand in delis and supermarkets.
It began as a small operation but is now supplying high street stores, such as Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, and is making inroads into international markets including Germany, the United States and China.
It offers three sea salt products, selling for between £1.75 and £3.
In 2015 the firm invested in two £80,000 bespoke stainless steel salt manufactured in Newcastle, which allowed it to make ten times more salt each day.
The open-topped tanks boil the sea water, pumped in from Loch Erisort, to specific temperatures before draining it.
The company has had financial backing from the public purse, with Highlands and Islands Enterprise contributing £300,000 to expand the business.
Food Standards Scotland said it was aware of the investigation and was liaising with the relevant enforcement authorities.
A spokesman for Western Isles Council said: ‘This is an ongoing investigation.’
‘Trading on the good name of the Hebrides’ THE ORIGINAL SPIEL ON THE PACKETS: Our sea salt is handharvested using the simplest of recipes: Hebridean sea water, heat and time. Nothing added or removed – creating crunchy crystals AND THE NEW LABELS, STUCK ON OVER THE OLD ONES, BUT NEGLECTING TO SAY WHERE THE SALT COMES FROM: Our sea salt is handharvested, creating pure white crunchy sea salt crystals that melt in the mouth ‘That’s the Western Isles for you’