A salty fish tale from Sweden by way of IKEA in Paramus

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I wish IKEA would flag the high salt content in its jars of marinated herring.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I was delighted to find jars of raw, marinated herring in IKEA's Swedish Food Market in Paramus, but when I looked at the nutrition labels at home, I was horrified by all the salt I would be consuming.

I bought four kinds: in garlic sauce, in mustard sauce, in dill sauce and with onion and carrot. The jars are 8.8 ounces each, not 5.1 ounces, as I wrote in a previous post, and four were on sale for $6.

A serving size is five small pieces of herring, but the sodium content ranges from 29% to 62% of the recommended daily intake -- or 700 milligrams to 1,500 milligrams of salt.

The herring in mustard sauce has the lowest salt content: 19% of the recommended daily intake.

I just finished the herring in garlic sauce, and wonder if I can return the others and exchange them for mustard sauce or get a refund.

IKEA, 100 IKEA Drive, Paramus. Closed Sundays. Free garage parking.

  

H Mart renewal

The H Mart in Englewood -- smallest of the Korean chain's four supermarkets in Bergen County -- has received a much-needed makeover.

After I moved to Hackensack from Englewood, I stopped going there and started shopping at H Marts in Little Ferry and Fort Lee, the newest.

My eyes popped when I walked into the Englewood store today: New coats of paint, bright lights and the word "Fresh" spelled out several times in big letters on the walls, next to colorful illustrations of food.

The selling area was expanded by pushing checkout counters closer to the front of the store.

H Mart's produce quality had dipped, but now it is back to being among the best selections in North Jersey. And prices are very competitive.

I picked up fresh collard greens for 99 cents a pound. At the fish counter, I chose fresh, whole porgy ($2.99 a pound) from among more than two dozen whole fish on ice.

Three pounds of Earthbound Farm organic gala apples were $3.49.

It would be terrific if the dowdy Little Ferry store got the same makeover.

H Mart, 25 Lafayette Ave., Englewood; 201-871-8822.