Fake about Ukrainian supermarket chain “ATB” selling poisoned salt is spreading online. Our fact-checking team explains who shared it first and debunks it below.
What happened?
Our chatbot, “Perevirka,” received a request to check if the supermarket chain “ATB” is really selling salt with “a dangerous substance” to customers.
“Attention, poison… Е536 is a potassium cyanide derivation, also known as quick act poison,” said the post inquiry referred to.
We received the information about poisoned salt from different sources, including Facebook group “Overheard in Varash urban community” (archive), on social media X and Instagram “Actual truth” (archive), kharkiv_1capital (archive), and TikTok users’ accounts marinka8836 (archive), ivi12.23 (archive), olia.orlovska_ (archive).
Analysis
Firstly, we looked for the original source of the information that salt from the trademark “Rozumnyi Vybir” (“Smart choice” from Ukrainian — ed.) contains dangerous substances.
Iryna Kalenska was the first to talk about it in her video (archive), which has gained more than 700,000 views. She positions herself as a nutritionist and posts content on this topic regularly on TikTok.
“Naturally, there will be people who will write: “If it is so dangerous, why are they selling it?” You should address this question to “ATB.” Maybe they will explain why, but I don’t want to buy this salt,” the woman on video said.
“ATB” supermarket’s official accounts on TikTok (archive) and Facebook (archive) wrote that this substance is a usual food additive:
“E536 isn’t a poison; this is a usual food additive that prevents salt from sticking together. It is allowed in the EU and is safe. We officially inform you that the information about dangerous salt in “ATB” is fake.”
On the Ministry of Health website, we found Resolution №32 from 2003 (archive), which approves the use of potassium ferrocyanide food additive (E536) to prevent salt caking and clumping.
Potassium ferrocyanide (E536) is on a list of food additives that are allowed to be used in food.
We asked for a comment from Hlib Repich, a candidate for chemical science, and he confirmed that the salt that resonated in social networks is safe. Earlier, the scientist debunked this fake on TikTok and, in conversation with Gwara’s fact-checkers, he stressed:
“Ferrocyanide is as toxic as ordinary salt. More precisely, a lethal dose for me will be about 300 grams of potassium ferrocyanide. I will die not from cyanide poisoning but from kidney failure. Ferrocyanide is added to the salt in minimal amounts (10 milligrams in 1 kilogram). This amount is enough to show its anti-sticking effect. That’s why it doesn’t endanger our health in any way. Ferrocyanide is certainly added to all varieties of “extra” salt; you can check it.”
So, the message about salt sold in the supermarket chain “ATB” that contains “toxic” food additive E536 (potassium ferrocyanide) is fake. This additive is used to prevent salt from caking and clumping. E536 is on a list of food additives allowed to be used in food in Ukraine, and its percentage in one pack of salt is actually minimal and does not pose a health risk.
Conclusion: Fake
Author: Vasylyna Haviak
Translation to English: Elza Diachenko
UPD from Apr 25, 2025, 8:09 p.m.: Headline fixed—there’s no prove the fake’s Russian propaganda, so the word “Russian” is removed from the headline.
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