Why is Dextrose in Salt

[rrkss]

Sugar Added to my Salt!?!?!?!?

I bought some Morton Lite Salt to use as a Potassium Supplement.

The ingredients are:

Sodium Chloride (Table Salt)
Potassium Chloride (What I want)
Calcium Silicate (Anti Caking Agent)
Magnesium Carbonate (Raises my gH)
Dextrose (Don't know what sugar is doing in salt)
Potassium Iodide (To prevent goiter and a little extra bit of Potassium )

Dextrose is an isotrope of Glucose. Pretty much it is a sugar and can be used by your body as sugar. Like most sugars, it tastes sweet. Now someone tell me what this is doing in this salt product.

 

[OrionGirl]

Suger enhances the flavor of sweet things, so maybe a little bit of sweet enhances the salt flavor, as well? I doubt it's enough to impact the tank, since it will be consumed by bacteria either way.

 

[TKOS]

Dextrose, when added (typically at about 0.04%), acts as a stabilizer for potassium iodide in salt. KI tends to dissociate into “free” iodine (I), which vaporizes and may be lost from the salt. Good packaging techniques in the U.S. minimize the problem (as well as the caking problem), but KI stabilizing agents are added anyway to ensure that iodized salt retains its ability to combat iodine deficiency disorders, even when it sits in the kitchen for long periods of time.


http://www.saltinstitute.org/additives.html

 

[rrkss]

I was not worried about the fish using this as Dextrose will just make some heterotrophic bacteria happy. Thanks TKOS for the link that was very interesting.

 

[OrionGirl]

Interesting! So much for my guess!

 

[hurricanejedi]

I was wondering the same thing when I picked up my salt the other day.

 

[mermaiden78]

I have a question... Do you add the table salt to your tank? What does it do? Sorry for the ???????S but i was just wondering.. :duh: This is my blonde question for the day!

 

[sumthin fishy]

Salt can be used as a medication, as in trating Ich. For more information, see daveedkas article at the top of the forums.

 

[Larissa]

Salt can be used as a medication, as in trating Ich. For more information, see daveedkas article at the top of the forums.

Actually Fishy, This is Lite salt. It's NaCl and KCl. He wants the potassium chloride but I don't know why either. Maybe as a plant supplement?

 

[Hannys_Papa]

... Maybe as a plant supplement?

Yes thats what its for - to provide the plants with K = Potassium thats part of KCL (potassium chloride).