Ιsrael is known as the land of milk and honey – and now salt, too. Israel’s Salt of the Earth, which packages salt mined in Israel, has just won awards from SIAL Innovation Selection 2014. SIAL (Salon International de l’alimentation) is the world’s largest food trade show, and SIAL Innovation Awards are among the most coveted honors given out in the food business.

Salt of the Earth (“Melach ha’aretz” is the company’s Hebrew name), a part of the Arison Group, has been mining salt since 1922, selling to both the retail and industrial markets. The salt is mined in the areas of Eilat in southern Israel and Atlit, near Haifa, in an environmentally responsible manner, preserving harvesting areas “as nature reserves, islands of greenery, hosting many species of animals and combining bird-watching and nature activities through setting up lookout points as well as habitation and nesting areas for thousands of waterfowls and migratory birds,” the company says, and it “cooperates with the Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority in the protection of sea turtles.”

While you might think not much could be done with salt, the company has dozens of products, including table salt, “gourmet” salt like black salt granules, white salt granules, rosemary salt granules and smoked salt granules, reduced sodium salts, industrial salts used in meat koshering, cheese production, pickling, leather tanning, plastics manufacturing, and more, and even salt for dishwashing powder products.

Salt of the Earth won the SIAL awards last week for three products: WonderSalt, a low-sodium sea salt for kids, naturally colored with fruit and vegetable extracts; a “fun-colored” salt designed to help children control sodium intake; Umami-Essence Sea Salt, derived from tomato extract, pure salt from the Red Sea that can reduce the level of a recipe’s sodium while boosting flavor via umami, the “fifth taste” (after salt, sweet, sour and bitter) that scientists agree is an important part of the taste universe; and Salt ‘N Easy, seasoned sea-salt roasting mixes for poultry, fish or vegetables.

“Our strategy is to focus on outside-the-box sea salt concepts,” said Giorit Carmi, marketing manager for Salt of the Earth. “We successfully address consumer desires to reduce sodium in the diet without giving up great taste. Our products help people create gourmet products that answer the growing demand for home-style recipes. Through innovation and sustainability strategies, we are able to bring added value and increased profitability to food makers everywhere.”

“We are very excited about this recognition by SIAL,” he added. “This is a significant step forward in building our reputation in the global food market and creating strong, long-lasting brands.”