◎Intern reporter Luo Xiangru

　　As a table salt for daily necessities, recently, many colorful "imported partners" have been ushered in - Himalayan pink salt, Persian blue salt, American Hawaiian black salt, French gray salt, Salt Flower and other imported net red salts competing with each other. It debuted and sold well on major e-commerce platforms.

　　However, these beautifully packaged, colorful and exotic imported salts are expensive.

The average price of ordinary table salt is mostly 3.5 yuan for 500 grams, while a certain 380 grams of Himalayan pink salt is priced at 49 yuan, which is dozens or even hundreds of times that of ordinary table salt.

　　So, what is the difference between the ordinary refined salt we often eat and imported high-priced salt?

Is high-priced imported salt really worth the money?

　　The main ingredients are the same as ordinary salt

　　In the promotional page of a certain brand of Salt Flowers, "quality", "rare" and "crisp" are the keywords of its slogan. In the product evaluation, many buyers gave favorable comments.

But when asked "what's the difference between the flower of salt and ordinary salt", some buyers said that "the taste is not much different, but it is healthier" and "advanced, it's good to eat".

　　Similar advertising slogans also appear in the product promotion pages of other Internet celebrity salts.

In general, apart from the so-called "quality", "rare", "healthier" and other fancy advertising slogans, the selling point of high-priced imported net red salt is nothing more than that it looks good, contains minerals and has a slightly different taste.

　　In this regard, Fan Zhihong, a professor at the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University and director of the China Society of Food Science and Technology, said that whether it is common refined salt or imported net red salt, the main ingredient is sodium chloride, with little difference, and some imported salts It does provide more minerals, which can also be absorbed by the body.

However, through a balanced diet, people can also ingest minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium contained in imported net red salt.

　　As for the "natural and additive-free" selling point of imported Internet celebrity salt, Fan Zhihong said that since the salt itself is a natural preservative, there are not too many additives in ordinary refined salt, and most refined salts have only a small amount of anti-caking agent. to prevent the salt from clumping.

　　In addition to being edible, it also has ornamental value

　　Since imported Internet celebrity salt is not healthier than ordinary salt, and the so-called selling points are limited to rich colors and shapes, and beautiful names full of exotic flavors, are consumers who buy high-priced imported Internet celebrity salt paying an "IQ tax"? ?

　　"I don't think it's an 'IQ tax'. Some Western chefs collect salt from all over the world and combine different salts with different dishes to improve the overall taste of the dishes. In a sense, this is The performance of some consumers' consumption upgrade. In addition, imported net red salt comes in various colors, and it can also play a decorative role in the kitchen." Fan Zhihong said that if consumers can afford it economically, it is understandable to buy high-priced net red salt .

　　Zhu Yi, an associate professor at the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, also believes that imported net red salt with different colors and shapes not only has basic edible value, but also has ornamental value. For some consumers, this is also a different the same consumer experience.

The hot sale of imported salt shows from the side that people's consumption level has improved.

As long as these imported salts meet food safety standards, there is no need to intervene too much.