Gandhi: Setting an example

London, March 1: Mahatma Gandhi would have been amused. Nearly eight decades after the British cracked down on him for daring to get salt from the sea, a British company has proudly announced it is doing exactly that — getting salt from the sea.

In Cornwall, one of England’s most picturesque counties, a plant to “harvest” salt directly from the sea has just been set up on the Lizard Peninsula.

Tony Fraser, the founder and managing director of the Cornish Sea Salt Company, enthused: “Our harvesting plant is located just metres from the clearest, Grade A classified waters — the highest accreditation to denote water purity.”

And given the rising demand in the West for all things natural and environmentally friendly, the company should do splendidly.

The company, which obtains its salt from “the clearest, turquoise waters of Cornwall’s Atlantic ocean, nature’s ultimate renewable resource”, describes its product in lyrical terms: “Retaining over 60 naturally-occurring trace elements essential for well-being, Cornish Sea Salt delivers more taste for less salt, making it a tastier and healthier alternative to traditional table salt.”

The principles have not changed much since March 12, 1930, when Gandhi, accompanied by his followers, began his 240-mile march from Sabarmati to Dandi in Gujarat as a protest against the British salt tax.

For their pains, they were beaten up — as graphically depicted in Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning movie.

The tax made it illegal for workers to freely collect their own salt from the coasts of India, since this franchise was a British monopoly.

“I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor man’s standpoint,” Gandhi had written to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin.

“As the Independence movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil.”

The Cornish Sea Salt Company has highlighted the virtues of sea salt in its appeal to prospective customers: “You’ll love our innovative and eco-friendly packaging, and the taste sensation of our pure, brilliantly white, flaky sea salt crystals that melt in the mouth and add real flavour intensity to the foods you like to eat.”

What has changed, though, since Gandhi waded in to collect sea water, is the technology.

Fraser pointed out: “After multi-filtration and a secret recipe of time, heat and motion, the water is steam evaporated leaving a mountain of pure, brilliantly white, flaky sea salt crystals. The flakes are then hand-harvested from the evaporation pans and gently rinsed and dried. Simple.”

There is a certain amount of confusion in Britain about whether people should cut out salt altogether from their diet or simply reduce consumption to 6gm a day — Indian men, with their high salt intake, are said to be especially prone to heart attacks.

Ellie Bradshaw, the company’s marketing director, added: “Traditional table salt is a processed, bleached product with incorporated additives and anti-caking agents such as Sodium Ferrocyanide. The production process leaves the salt with little or none of its original trace minerals or goodness.”

He said: “Cornish Sea Salt, by comparison, is a totally natural product and retains all its original mineral qualities. Also, the flavour is much more intense, meaning less salt needs to be added to food.”

Gandhi, who was more concerned about the poor, would probably have smiled at the thought of sea salt being a premium product. The Cornish sea salt is available only from specialist stores and, typically, costs £3.85 for a 225gm pouch and £8 for a 500gm tub.

It has received endorsement from the Cornwall-based TV chef Rick Stein, who declared: “It’s pure and tastes very salty — straight from the ocean.”

The Mahatma would have agreed.