Toxic Salt Suspected in Illness - Walmart, Hagerstown Maryland

17850 Garland Groh Boulevard, Hagerstown, 21740 Maryland, United States

Suspected food poisoning. Symptoms: Nausea, Stomach Pain, Cramps, Headache
Suspected source: Great Value sodium-free salt alternative
Onset: 4 to 12 hours
Duration: Several Weeks
Sick: 2 people
Additional information: We use this salt as an additive to our daily water intake as a way to increase our potassium levels (think homemade Gatorade). It is one of very few ingredients, and was being made fresh and ingested daily. We both noticed the bottle smelled badly of a plasticy, petroleum smell, but figured it was just the cheap bottle itself. Over the next few months of use, I began to have debilitating headaches, constant cramps and stomacn upset, and ended up on several medications from my doctor, thinking it was likely stress related. It wasn't until recently that we saw others saying they had also smelled the awful bottle smell, but unlike us, used it in a way they could taste the "salt" itself (without any additional flavorings), saying it was bitter and chemical tasting. We switched brands to Original No Salt, and my symptoms went away shortly after, and I no longer have to take either of the medications prescribed regularly by my doctor since the switch away from Great Value. Someone who left a review directly on walmart.com said they had it independently tested, and found it contained toxic chemicals, but did not specify what exactly. But in light of them being in a current lawsuit for their spices containing high levels of lead, arsenic, and cadmium, I can't imagine what was found to be a good thing. | Symptoms: Nausea, Stomach Pain, Cramps, Headache