Here are answers to questions we are frequently asked.
A. Selina Naturally is our company name. Selina Delangre is the owner and CEO. We used to be called "The Grain and Salt Society". We provided the “A Grain of Salt™” newsletter and had 100s of cutting-edge products to go along with Celtic Sea Salt®. All to support a healthy lifestyle. We changed the company name to Selina Naturally® after we stopped selling grains and stopped being a society. In the beginning, the salt was scarcer. Our customers would purchase a membership to get to the front of the line for salt. Now there is plenty of salt to go around so everyone is automatically a member!
Selina Naturally offers top salts from around the world, fine seasonings, soothing body care items, and hard-to-find superfoods. See the catalog here SN Product Catalog 2024 or easily navigate our site, www.selinanaturally.com, through the "shop by category" tab.
When you purchase from us you will see “Celtic Ocean International” on the charge, which is our umbrella name.
A. Celtic Sea Salt® has been our brand name since 1976. At first, there were only 3 salts, Light Grey Celtic®, Fine Ground Celtic®, and Flower of the Ocean®. Now, all our salts bear the name Celtic Sea Salt®. Each salt comes from a unique place, and we have given them unique names. The founder, Jacques Delangre, had a mission to bring unrefined salt to the USA after he discovered the salt in France that was harvested using traditional techniques. The Celts settled the Guerande' region of France almost 2000 years ago and designed the salt harvesting method.
“Celtic” is the term Jacques coined for the salt after learning that the Celts invented the harvesting method. In France, they call it "sel gris" or grey salt. We call it Light Grey Celtic® because of the trace amount of French green clay imparted into the crystals. There is a darker grey salt at the source, but it is more for bath or agriculture uses. The “Light Grey” is the best for consumption.
Over the years as the customer base grew, we began to adopt salts from other places. The main reason was to not have all our eggs in one basket. Another reason was that it was hard to deny the wonderful quality of the other salts we have chosen. View Blog Article “More than just Light Grey Celtic®”
A. Each of our salts comes from a unique place. Our original salts, Light Grey Celtic® and Fine Ground Celtic® are still from France. Our Flower of the Ocean® is from Portugal. The Gourmet Kosher™ is from Guatemala. The Makai Pure® is from Hawaii. The Celtic Sea Salt® Potassium Pink is from Salt Mountain in Cordova, Spain. The Celtic Sea Salt® River Salts are from Villena, Spain.
A. Each of our salts are harvested differently, but they also share a similar result- unrefined sea salt. There are no additives and there is nothing removed.
Light Grey Celtic® is harvested from clay-lined beds with wooden utensils. The salt farmer traps seawater in estuaries during high tide and lets it evaporate to a point where there is high salinity. From there, the brine is channeled into the harvesting beds via a series of channels. As the brine evaporates, the crystals form and sink to the bottom. The salt farmer scrapes the salt crystals into piles and once drained, it's taken to the cooperative. The salt we get from France may have been harvested by hundreds of families! Light Grey Celtic® Analysis.
Fine Ground Celtic® comes from the Light Grey, just low-temperature dried and crushed to retain the minerals. It is the best salt for baking and is convenient at the table. This salt may also be a good transition salt since it is the most like regular salt most people are used to. Light Grey Fine Ground Celtic® Analysis.
Makai Pure® is our salt from Hawaii. It is harvested with high-tech, proprietary methods. Basically, the salt is produced in pharmaceutical-grade clean rooms with fans. The seawater either comes from deep ocean currents, or it is passed through multiple filters before going into the evaporation rooms. The salt that comes from this method is high-mineral, pure white flakes and chunks. Celtic Sea Salt® Makai Pure® Analysis.
Gourmet Kosher™ is our salt from Guatemala. We purchase from a family who has been harvesting the salt for many years there. The salt farmers are third generation, and in the off-season, from harvesting the salt they are doing sugar. The seawater is piped into the salt harvesting beds. The mangroves in the area are excellent for filtering the seawater they use to make this salt. Celtic Sea Salt® Gourmet Kosher™ Analysis.
Flower of the Ocean® is our salt from Portugal. We have also purchased Flower of the Ocean from France. The crystals are tiny and easily crushed between the fingers, and the salt is considered a culinary treasure. The salt farmers in Portugal have been harvesting salt here for generations. In a similar manner, they allow seawater brine into the harvesting beds and collect the crystals from the surface of the brine as they form, keeping them from growing too large. Celtic Sea Salt® Flower Of The Ocean® Analysis.
Celtic Sea Salt® Pink Potassium Cave Salt is one of our most recent add-ons. We noticed the demand for potassium and wanted to be able to offer a salt for that need. There is a place in Cordova, Spain called "Salt Mountain". The mountain is like a dome of salt that protrudes from the Earth. It slowly grows over time. The salt is sustainably mined from within Salt Mountain. Celtic Sea Salt® Pink Potassium Cave Salt Analysis.
Celtic Sea Salt® River Salts come from Villena, Spain. There is an underground brine spring that wells up from the Earth naturally with no pumps. The brine is piped into beds for evaporation. River salts of ours include the Flake, Fine, Smoked, and Liquid Low Sodium salts. We also have a few seasoned salts from here. The way the salt farmers here channel the brine away from the valley also allows for rice to be produced in the area. Win-win! These salts, along with the Celtic Sea Salt® Potassium Pink Cave Salt, are packaged in green packaging with no plastic. Celtic Sea Salt® River Salt Smoked Analysis, Celtic Sea Salt® River Salt Flake Analysis, Celtic Sea Salt® River Salt Fine Analysis
Celtic Sea Salt® Equine and Pet/Ag salts are simply the French salt, but just a grade lower. The Light Grey Celtic® is harvested to meet special specifications that comply with PGI (protected geographical indication) and Nature & Progrès (organic-like). The Light Grey Celtic® is suitable for use in certified organic products. The bath/ag salt also complies with PGI. One may consider the Celtic Sea Salt® bath/ag salt the “general salt” and the Light Grey Celtic® is the “select” salt.”
Celtic Sea Salt® Bath Crystals are the Gourmet Kosher from Guatemala and the Grey Salt from France, blended. It has a marbled look due to half of the salt being grey and the other half being white.
Here is a photo album CSSTOURBOOK and Google Earth tour CSSTOUR2021
A. There is no iodine added to any of our salts, but a trace amount exists naturally. The amount is about .2ppm or .0002mg/.25tsp, not enough to satisfy the daily recommended amount. We do sell a few iodine supplements www.selinanaturally.com/health/iodine. Our Gourmet Seaweed Seasoning is a good way to get your daily iodine naturally from the seaweed and with amazing flavor!
A. No. Salt is "Nature's original preservative" and was used to keep food from spoiling throughout history. With the advent of refrigeration, salt was less essential for that, but to this day is still an integral part of culturing vegetables and koshering meats.
You will find a lot code and expirations on every Celtic Sea Salt® item. We had to add the expiration date for some vendors that require it. But as salt, we are reassured, it will never expire.
A. The moisture content in Celtic Sea Salt® is part of what makes it so unique. Since we do not alter the salt in any way, it will still contain the brine from which it was harvested. This moisture is called the brine, or "mother liquor", of the salt.
The moisture content of these natural salts can make for difficult salting. It is no wonder why some salt companies pride themselves on it still pouring even when it rains. We, however, are prouder of the way it clumps because we have left the mineral-rich brine in there. Certain elements in salt are "water-loving" so if it is humid, the salt will pick up moisture, and when it is dry the salt will follow suit and dry out.
If your Celtic Sea Salt® is too wet to use in your grinder, then we have a low-temperature drying method that can help. Just preheat the oven to 200 degrees, put the salt in on a plate, turn the oven off, and let the salt hang out in that warm dry place for a while. Drying the salt is a last resort. Usually, our grinders can handle the moist salt, but over time salt can clump up in the gears and can be more difficult to use. If you are not using a grinder from us then there is a good chance the salt will not work in there, especially if it has metal parts.
For more information, please see the blog article “How to use Celtic Sea Salt®”.
A. There is a list of recommendations for how to store your Celtic Sea Salt®, but the main thing is to avoid metal containers, shakers, and grinders. They will not work with the moist salt. Moisture, salt, and metal do not get along and can corrode and compromise your salt and your apparatus. Plastic, glass, wood, ceramic, etc. will all work, but not metal.
A. Yes, absolutely! Use Celtic Sea Salt® for everything you would use regular salt. In recipes the amount is still 1:1. Remember you can always add salt to food but can't remove it, so starting with less is a good way to prevent over-salting.
For baking, we recommend the Fine Ground Celtic® because it will disperse and mix better.
A. We are confident that the salt you get from us is pure and unaltered, as Nature intended. Our producers test for purity at the source, and we do periodic 3rd party testing. We test for the things you do want to see in your salt like sodium, chloride, sulfate, magnesium, potassium, calcium, etc... The analysis tests for 72 elements and we get values back for about 60 of those. We also test for things you do NOT want in your salt, such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, microplastics, and microorganisms. We have found over the years that the analyses are very consistent. There is evidence that even though there is risk of pollution in the oceans, the salt is not bringing the pollution into its crystals. What comes out as salt is not the same as what seawater goes in. There is a miracle that takes place with natural unrefined sea salt!
Lead is naturally occurring in the environment. When it is in its natural form it is not reactive. Lead in Celtic Sea Salt® does not exceed .7ppm (Fine Ground Celtic). Makai Pure has no measurable lead. The lead in Celtic Sea Salt® is naturally occurring and does not pose a measurable threat compared to other sources.
Aluminum is also naturally occurring. Light Grey Celtic Sea Salt® and Fine Ground Celtic Sea Salt®, which are harvested from regions rich in clay. Clay naturally contains aluminum silicate, which is why these particular salts show higher aluminum levels compared to our other varieties. However, this does not imply that the aluminum levels are unsafe. To put this into perspective, consider the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) for aluminum as set by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is 2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per week. For a person weighing 60 kg (approximately 132 pounds), consuming around 480 grams (44 teaspoons) of this sea salt in a week would be required to reach the PTWI for aluminum. This equates to an extremely high salt intake, far exceeding the recommended daily intake of 5 to 6 grams per day for adults. It's important to note that consuming such large quantities of salt daily is not advisable and can be detrimental to health. Source
Microplastics are pervasive in the environment. The main source of MPs is in the air. In a year we breathe billions of microplastics. From the salt, the risk is from zero to no more than .5 MP per day, or 0 to 200MPs per year. When compared to other sources of microplastics, the amount found in salt is minuscule. No microplastics were discovered in Makai Pure or Fine Ground Celtic. 3 MPs were found in 1KG of Light Grey Celtic. We eat approximately 2 KGs of salt per year, so in a year the risk is 6 MPs per year for Light Grey Celtic®.
A. There are 3 types of our best salt. What is the best salt for minerals? What is the best salt for the price? What is the best salt for applications?
The best salts for minerals are the Makai Pure® and Gourmet Kosher™. Strangely enough, those are our salts that come from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. They all have less sodium and more chloride than our Atlantic Ocean salts like the Light Grey Celtic®, Fine Ground Celtic®, and Flower of the Ocean®. This does not mean that more minerals are necessarily better. The balance of minerals in all the salts are consistent with our internal body fluids. So having the most minerals may not be the best, while having the right proportion of minerals has more merit.
The best salts for the price are as follows: Gourmet Kosher™ and Light Grey Celtic®. More expensive salts like the Flower of the Ocean® and Makai Pure® are harder to harvest.
The best salts for applications are the following: Best for baking (Fine Ground Celtic®), best for pickling and cooking (Light Grey Celtic® and Gourmet Kosher™), best for at the table (all of them, with their respective shaker or grinder), best for gourmet finishing (Flower of the Ocean®and Makai Pure®), best to add to water (all, but Makai Pure may top this list).
View Celtic Sea Salt® comparison chart HERE
A. Yes. The simple truth is that with salt there are no organisms present to modify. Salt is made of minerals, so therefore is 100% GMO-free, as well as organism-free.
There was a time when we had the non-GMO seal on our salts. We got certified and kept it that way for a few years. Recently we were confronted about adding that to our label. It was not with ill intent that we would add that, but it was also not necessary to have it on there since, as salt, is not an organism, so therefore cannot qualify for the certification any longer. But it is non-GMO 100%.
A. We believe that unrefined sea salt has benefits, thanks to the coexistence of the full spectrum of trace elements.
We are not health professionals so we can’t make specific recommendations or claims, but Celtic Sea Salt® is supported by many health professionals and chefs.
A. The salt we get from Spain comes from an underground brine spring, It is an underground river that wells up naturally to the surface with no pumps. The salt farmers direct that brine to the salt harvesting beds where it can evaporate into salt crystals. This is where our Liquid low sodium salt comes from. Also, the River Flakes, Smoked, and Fine River Salt are from this area in Villena, Spain.
A. Coming from Salt Mountain in Cordova, Spain, this pink potassium-rich salt is the answer for those seeking more elemental potassium in their diet. This salt still tastes like salt, and not cold and fake like other potassium salts on the market. It does still provide sodium as well. This is our only mined salt, but at Salt Mountain, the salt dome is slowly growing, and they practice sustainable techniques to remove salt from within with great care. See question 4 for analysis
A. We have added many wonderful electrolyte products to our line.
Electrolyte Powder- Formulated by Dr. Lynne August, this powder basically contains salt, added minerals, and citric acid for flavor. It does not have added sweeteners, but it tastes great. It comes in a jar with a little scooper.
Electrolyve™ liquid- Also formulated by Dr. Lynne August, this liquid electrolyte is fused with electricity, and carries a charge. It is unflavored but makes the water taste like tears. Not sad tears, but more like tears of joy. https://www.selinanaturally.com/celtic-sea-salt-electrolyve-liquid-8-oz
Aquon Matrix® -basically cold-filtered and structured seawater sticks. Easy electrolyte boost on the go, and is great for getting out of the funk. https://www.selinanaturally.com/brands/aquon-matrix
A. This Magnesium supplement is different in that magnesium silicate is fused to clay as a delivery system. The Mg when in this form can bypass the stomach and go to the small intestines where it can be fully absorbed. https://www.selinanaturally.com/celtic-sea-salt-magnesium-plus-90-caps
A. Rare Body Care® products include salt scrubs, bath salts, deodorant, and oil-pulling products. The recipes for many of the scrubs and rubs are from the Native American company “Native Touch” whom Selina purchased. https://www.selinanaturally.com/beauty-bath-body/rare-body-care
A. We do carry many hard-to-find products. We used to have about 10 times more. Over time, products become easier to find elsewhere and we have let them go. What we still carry are items that are unique and healthful.
see "shop by brand" https://www.selinanaturally.com/brands
A. The Prop 65 warning is by law to appear on any product sold in California that may have toxins such as lead. We know that seaweed has questionable amounts of lead. In our research, we have learned that the lead found in seaweed is naturally occurring and does not pose the same risk as lead that comes from mining, or from other lead sources that are found throughout our daily lives. The lead found in the seaweed is also naturally bound to iron which means it is not reactive. We must be conscious of our intake of heavy metals. Find more information about this here Maine Coast Sea Vegetables - Prop 65
A. Sometimes we wonder the same thing! As a company who was doing mail order long before the advent of the internet, we were one of the first to purchase a website. It wasn’t functional to order on, as these were very early internet days. It did have a store locator. Once we upgraded our name to Selina Naturally® we got a shopping site and then there were two sites. Now we use www.celticseasalt.com for our wholesale customers. The items are only the ones we produce ourselves.. www.selinanaturally.com is the site with all of our products available to purchase.
A. As you may have noticed, our salt items have been selling out rapidly upon restocking. The demand for our Celtic Sea Salt® is going wilder than a tidal wave. To stay up to date with our stock, we have created this landing page: https://www.selinanaturally.com/in-stock-items . These are the items our team will be working hard to stock regularly. So, please always check this page. We are currently on a first come first serve basis as we do not have a waiting list. We also have Celtic Sea Salt® in distribution worldwide with IHERB, VITACOST, THRIVEMARKET. We are currently unable to offer sales to international customers on our website at this time. Email info@celticseasalt.com to see if there is a store near you that carries it as well. Here are some other places to find us https://www.celticseasalt.com/find-us/
A. We offer free shipping on orders over $100 after discounts in the continental USA.
A. Yes! But our website does not quote for USPS Flat Rate Boxes. To order from out of the Continental US, please call 800-867-7258 or email info@selinanaturally.com. Our agent will help to input your order.
A. Our Equine, Pet/Agricultural and bath salts are not certified for human consumption. It is also not sifted through as carefully and may contain more bits of clay. Celtic Sea Salt® Equine and Pet/Ag salts are simply the French salt, but just a grade lower. If you choose to ingest, do so at your own risk. It is still 100% salt, with nothing added or removed.
A. We are not accepting new wholesale customers at this time. Please reach out in a few months about opening an account. Thank you for your patience during this time. Email wholesale@selinanaturally.com, see www.celticseasalt.com/wholesale, or call 888-353-0030