from [wikipedia][1]: > **No-additive salts for canning and pickling** > > In contrast to table salt, which often has iodide as well as > anticaking ingredients, > special canning and pickling salt is made for producing the brine to > be used in pickling vegetables and other food-stuffs. This salt has no > iodine added because the iodide can be oxidised by the foods and > darken them—a harmless but aesthetically undesirable effect. I have been looking for a concentration, but I suspect it is below the threshold that would harm microflora, as it typically has to be visibly yellow (~6ppm if i remember correctly) to be effective as a contact antimicrobial agent... [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodised_salt