K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH based in Kassel processes and manufactures high-purity salts for plant nutrition, for industrial applications as well as for health care and nutrition purposes. 

K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH is one of the world’s leading suppliers of potash and magnesium products and the largest salt supplier worldwide. More than 14,000 employees all over the world make K+S successful and dynamic.

K+S has been mining and processing potassium, magnesium and sodium salts for more than 150 years, and has the most extensive experience worldwide.

K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH has production sites in Europe, North, Central, and South America. K+S’s minerals are of natural origin, having been deposited at great depths more than 200 million years ago. K+S extracts the valuable raw materials from its own mines via conventional mining and processes them into products for multiple applications.

Quality and certifications

The production of K+S’s high-purity salts is subject to the strictest quality and hygiene controls and is audited by renowned institutions:

  • On the basis of DIN EN ISO 9001:2008, K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH has developed its own quality management, the implementation of which is certified by the German Technical Inspection Association, TÜV Nord.
  • The regional council Darmstadt and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspect the production of pharmaceutical salts as per GMP.
  • The NUTRIKS product portfolio is audited in accordance with food standards such as IFS and FSSC 22000.
  • The salts for animal feed are certified in accordance with GMP+ and are recognised by QS.
  • The salts of K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH for pharmaceutical and food purposes are kosher and halal.

During the production process, including packaging, the salts of K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH are effectively protected from all kinds of environmental influences. The high degree of purity and the contents of all products are continuously analysed and monitored in the K+S laboratories.

All salts produced by K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH are completely traceable to the source along the entire value chain. K+S guarantees the highest quality for their products and most of them are “Made in Germany”.

Science and research

K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH constantly checks the mining and production processes for sustainable use of resources. Processes are developed and new technologies and materials are tested in order to optimise processes.

The practical knowledge transfer is an important aspect of the research and development work at K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH. For example, K+S supports its customers in registering their products worldwide.

NUTRIKS food minerals

K+S offers a wide range of food salts under the new brand name NUTRIKS. The portfolio contains all rock salts, evaporated salts and sea salts as well as potassium chloride and magnesium sulphate for the food industry. These essential minerals serve various areas of applications.

NUTRIKS KaliSel for instance, is a specialty product of K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH which can be used as an alternative to salt in the food industry. It is made of high-purity potassium chloride and serves as a solution for the reduction of salt in food products. It is also perfectly suitable for fortifying various foods with potassium chloride. It delivers the valuable mineral potassium and supports the human body in covering its required daily potassium intake. Magnesium sulphate in food-grade quality – that is NUTRIKS Epsom. The raw ingredient for NUTRIKS Epsom is mined in Germany and refined using modern technology. The premium Epsom salt is used in the food industry, for example, for fermentation and as an additive for the production of various food products.

NUTRIKS Epsom is an important component of nutritional physiology. Moreover, K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH is Europe’s market leading salt producer. The pure, natural food-grade rock salt, NUTRIKS Prime, is mined from unique deposits in Germany, which developed millions of years ago from the primeval sea. Protected at a depth of over 400m, and with a particularly high proportion of pure, white salt crystals, NUTRIKS Prime is a treasure of Earth. The high-purity food-grade vacuum salt, NUTRIKS Pure, has a sodium chloride content of at least 99.8%. This high purity is achieved through an intensive crystallisation process and by using high-quality brine from underground mineral sources.

Due to the complete solubilty, required in many food applications, this product complements K+S’s product portfolio for the food industry. The last food grade salt in the product group, NUTRIKS sea, is extracted by the continual evaporation of sea water under the influence of sun, heat and wind. The sea salt naturally contains minerals which create a special flavour for food products.

All NUTRIKS products are of premium quality, benefiting from the extensive experience of K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH in the production and processing of high-purity salts for more than 150 years.