Does saltwater (sea salt) have a shelf life? Can it expire?

How Long Does Epsom Salt Last? Does Epsom Salt Go Bad?

If you’re wondering if Epsom salt will go bad, the straightforward answer is yes!

However, you should know ‘going bad’ does not mean they expire or cause any harm to your body. Instead, they may slightly lose their efficacy.

The easiest way to know how long an Epsom salt will last is to look at its expiration date. The expected expiry date is usually 2-3 years post its manufacturing date.

However, you can use Epsom salt beyond that specified duration if you store them in proper conditions. The reason it lasts long is due to its chemical composition.

Magnesium Sulfate does not breakdown as easily as other compounds. As such, if you store them in a cool and dry place, they will last you several years even after its expiry date.

In some cases, if you have kept the container open for too long, it may get contaminated with moisture.

In such a case, you may notice the Epsom salt getting hard. But, you can easily break or dissolve them and use them as usual.

To put it in a nutshell, it is relatively hard for Epsom salt to grow microbes or other bacteria, at least, not if you keep them in a cool and dry place.

In any case, Epsom will remain safe to use. This is mainly because you only use them externally as a bathing agent.

So, even if they lose their potency, it does not cause any adverse health concerns.

The key to ensuring long shelf life is proper storage. The ideal way to preserve its efficacy is to keep it in an airtight container.

After that, you may want to store it in a cool and dry place away from water and sunlight.

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Salt Shelf Life

In case you were wondering, salt in all of its forms has an indefinite shelf life. It should be stored in non-metal containers and kept away from excess moisture.

Keep those two things in mind, and you can be certain that in 10 or 20 years your salt will still be there, ready for your next canning session.

So are all these different types of salt a marketing ploy to squeeze more profit and to fill your pantry shelves with up to four different kinds of salt? You decide.

Will Salt Lose Its Flavor in Storage?

Pure salt is a stable compound of sodium chloride and will not lose flavor or degrade when stored properly. Salts that are combined with herbs and seasonings such as seasoned salt will lose flavor over time due to the plant products degrading, not the salt.

How to use extra before your Salt goes bad?

Help a sore throat or mouth sores by gargling with it mixed in warm water.

Get red wine out of the tablecloth by pouring some onto the spill right away.

Use rock salt mixed with ice and cold water in a bucket to quick chill your champagne bottle before opening.

To find out more about differences between salts, view our page on salt types.

Sea Salt v. Kosher Salt

The difference between sea salt and kosher is that kosher salt has much larger crystal flakes. So, you have to add more kosher salt crystals to get the flavoring strength of table salt. 

There is no difference between rough sea salt and kosher salt because both are minimally processed from their natural state. Kosher salt has no additives in it and is typically used for brining poultry, salt rubs for meat, or rimming your margarita glass.

Fun fact: Kosher salt got its name from the Jewish people’ s ancient practice of dry brining or “koshering” meats with it, namely removing all blood from the meat before meal prep. So, kosher salt’s more accurate name would be “koshering” salt.

What are our shelf life resources?

In determining how long Salt lasts, our content incorporates research from multiple resources, including the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Food & Drug Administration. In addition, we scoured the web for informative articles and reports related to food safety, food storage and the shelf life of Salt.

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Best Type of Salt for Long Term Storage

Pickling salt, canning salt, or kosher salt without iodine or additives are the best types of salt for long-term storage because they won’t go bad.  Their purity also means they can be used in multiple ways.  Sea salt is also a good choice but tends to be more expensive.

Below is an overview of the various types of salt and why you might want to stockpile them.

Table Salt & Iodized Salt

The most common type of salts are table salt and iodized salt.  These usually contain 97-99% sodium chloride with some anti-caking agents.  Iodized salt has iodine in addition to the anti-caking agents.

Iodine is an important nutrient that might be difficult to get on an emergency food diet.  However, it’s better to use non-iodized salt for things like DIY pickling and salt-water sinus rinses.

Over time, the iodine can turn the salt yellowish in color.  It’s still safe to eat but it might make the salt less valuable as a bartering item.  If you are worried about getting enough iodine, consider stockpiling seaweed or a supplement.

• Contains: Iodine, anti-clumping agents
• Use for: Cooking
• Shelf Life: Around 5 years

Kosher Salt

Kosher salt is made up of large crystals of salt.  Traditionally, kosher salt does not contain any iodine or additives.  However, some brands of kosher salt do have additives so you have to read the label.

Because it is pure, kosher salt is good for everything from cooking to preserving food.

The only real drawback is that the large crystals don’t dissolve as easily, so it isn’t ideal for baking.  Larger crystals also means that there’s less salt per teaspoon.  When following recipes based on table salt, you will need to adjust the amount of kosher salt (1tsp of table salt usually equals 1 ¼ tsp of coarse kosher salt).

• Contains: Usually just pure salt
• Use for: Cooking, food preservation, medicinally
• Shelf Life: Indefinite

Sea Salt

Sea salt is made by evaporating seawater. Or, in the case of Real Salt from Utah, from an underground salt deposit left by an ancient sea. Depending on the source of the seawater, the resulting salt will contain various natural minerals.

Because of these minerals, sea salt is considered to be healthier than other types of salt. However, it’s worth noting that these minerals are only present in very tiny amounts.  You shouldn’t rely on sea salt as a source of nutrition.

Many sea salt brands do add iodine to their products.  These salts are not recommended for food preservation or medicinal uses.  Like with table salt, iodized sea salt will eventually start to yellow. Non-iodized sea salt will last indefinitely and can be used in many ways.

• Other names: Celtic salt, Fleur De Sel, sel gris, flake salt
• Contains: Trace minerals
• Use for: Cooking, food preservation, medicinally
• Shelf Life: Indefinite

Himalayan Pink Salt

Like with sea salt, Himalayan pink salt is generally considered to be “healthier” because it contains natural minerals.  But these minerals are only in trace amounts, so aren’t going to make a difference to overall health.

Because Himalayan sea salt is so expensive, I wouldn’t recommend it for long-term storage. It makes more sense to simply stockpile some multivitamin and mineral supplements.

• Contains: Trace minerals
• Use for: Cooking, food preservation, medicinally
• Shelf Life: Indefinite

Canning and Pickling Salt

Canning and pickling salts contain no iodine, anti-caking agents, or other additives.  The main feature of these salts is their tiny grain size, which allows them to dissolve faster in liquids.  They are refined so they also don’t have any trace minerals.

• Contains: Trace minerals
• Use for: Cooking, food preservation, medicinally
• Shelf Life: Indefinite

How Much Salt to Store

The Institute of Medicine recommends that healthy adults consume at least 1,500mg (1.5g) of sodium but no more than 2,300mg (2.3g) per day. (4) An ounce of pure salt contains approximately 10,990mg of sodium.

Based on these numbers, for nutrition, a healthy adult needs 50-76oz (3.125-4.75lbs) of salt per year.

However, salt has many other uses than just seasoning food. If you want to use salt for food preservation, natural remedies, or bartering, you should stockpile much more salt than this.

When you factor in the other uses for salt, you likely need around 10lbs of salt per person, per year.

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