(File photo)

Recently, the edible salt produced by Shenying Salt Industry in Pingdingshan, Henan province was reported by customers to carry an unpleasant smell. Now, related departments have suspended sales of the salt.

A customer in Xi'an, Shaanxi province who bought the salt a week ago said that the smell was very unpleasant, and it stank even after being rubbed. After the salt was inspected by quality control officers, it was found to be of inferior quality, failing to meet national standards. The Shaanxi Administration of Salt Business (SASB) therefore decided to halt sales of the salt.

The SASB also summoned the company's local distributors for a talk. Currently, the salt produced by the company has not been sold in Xi'an on a large scale. Authorities have instructed distributors to remove all their products from shelves, and the products cannot be sold again until a clear identification has been made.

According to a Shenying Salt Industry employee, the smell of the salt comes from butyric acid, which was not removed from the rock salt during production. However, a salt industry insider claimed that the stink is actually sulfuretted hydrogen, which can cause suffocation, damage to the central nervous system and even asphyxiation when encountered in high concentrations.

Authorities plan to carry out further investigations into the content of the salt.