An overview of the salt production process by the Sauniers of Île de Ré from the marsh to final packaging
Welcome to the heart of the Coopérative des Sauniers de l'île de Ré where we showcase our productions!
Throughout the year, the Coop workshop is busy packaging salt...
Here, no transformations, our products therefore remain natural and authentic... just like us!
The Gros Sel des Sauniers de l'Île de Ré is systematically sifted (“screened”), in order to extract any clay pellets and feathers (Need we remember that we work within Nature?). The screening residues are recycled into agricultural or snow-clearing salt.
Then, it is marketed under the name Gros Sel marin. It can also be dried and then crushed to make Fine Salt (without additives, of course). The packaging goes up to 15 kg bags!!
Coarse Salt and Fine Salt from Île de Ré are available natural or with aromatics (organic), in salt shakers, mills or small pots.
The Fleur de Sel, for its part, is sifted, dried if necessary, then packaged, from 20gr verrine to our 3kg buckets.
Once prepared, the products reach the “Shipping” area from where they will go to our various customers.
Traceability is one of the bases of the Cooperative's operation: being able to guarantee quality products, from the marshes to your plate!
Here is an example with the fleur de sel delivery process.
Let's resume the lesson: In the marshes, once picked and dried in the sun, the fleur de sel is kept in a box until the time of delivery to the Cooperative. Throughout the summer, it is not uncommon to see us with our palox teams coming and going on the slopes or on the road!
Once at the Coop, we are taken care of: our paloxes are transferred by the operator, weighed, checked (visually and by coring), recorded, then stored in the storage area dedicated to the vintage.
At each stage, a recording takes place in order to be able to “follow” the product until final packaging.
Unlike Gros Sel which groups together all members' salt by harvest season, Fleur de Sel is kept in individual bins, per member and per harvest year: a member can therefore have one or more bins - depending on the quantity delivered.
Each storage crate corresponds to a number where we add the producer code and of course the year of production.
During “takeovers” for packaging, these codes will in turn be noted at the different stages: thus, in the event of a complaint, we can trace the history of the product back to the beginning.