Police seize 20,000 tons of industrial-grade salt being sold for consumption

Security forces have seized 20,000 tons of industrial-grade salt that police say was being passed off as table salt for human consumption across seven administrative regions including Beijing, South China Morning Post reported, citing state and local media. The investigation began when police in Jiangsu province tested a batch of salt and found it had none of the iodine required of table salt, but was high in harmful nitrates. The main suspect in the gang allegedly bought several flats and cars in Beijing with the profits from repackaging industrial salt worth RMB400-450 (about US$64-72) a ton and selling it as higher-grade table salt for RMB800-1,000 a ton, according to a report in the Beijing Youth Daily.