Investigation of the Effect of Load-Induced Pressure on the Caking of Salt

Domestically produced edible salt is stored in warehouses under moisture absorption and desorption conditions while being subjected to pressures corresponding to loads of up to 3.0 N⋅cm−2. During this storage process, severe caking may occur, presenting a critical quality concern. It has generally been recognized that applied load can influence key caking factors, namely critical relative humidity and bulk density. Accordingly, the present study investigated the relationship between these caking factors and applied load-induced pressure using edible salt edible salt. Furthermore, the impact of these relationships on caking strength was examined. The results demonstrated that changes in critical relative humidity induced by load were negligible, whereas bulk density exhibited a pronounced responsiveness. Moreover, variations in bulk density under load led to significant changes in caking strength. These findings confirm that the effect of load-induced pressure on the caking strength of edible salt is predominantly governed by alterations in bulk density.