Rehydration Salt Formulation
I asked a former ER doctor, current biostatistician, for a rehydration salt formula that would be economical to make in bulk quantities, ideally 10-15 gallon batches.
I just found out the following formula they gave me is AI generated and I could not find a relevant source for it:
1,000 ml water
3 grams salt
24 grams sugar
1.5 grams salt substitute
0.6 grams magnesium chloride
The rehydration salts intended use are for distributing to people experiencing dehydration due to prolonged heat exposure with limited access to shelter, potential malnutrition, and with a variety of potential medical issues such as kidney disease and alcoholism. Potential drug interactions including psychiatric medication and alcohol are also a factor.
Is this formula usable and effective? And are there ways to better optimize it, keeping in mind economic constraints? The budget for this is ideally <$500.
I can make 1500 servings of this powder for the cost of $196.13 in dry ingredients.
I also looked into the WHO recommended formula:
1000 ml water
2.6 grams salt
13.5 grams dextrose
1.5 grams potassium chloride
2.9 grams trisodium citrate dihydrate
I can make 6,716 servings for $762.85 (including $225.40 shipping). This quantity at this price would require 350 lbs of materials. I found a source for very cheap food grade storage bins, but I'm concerned about finding somewhere to store the formulated powder and the ample left over ingredients.
This option is considerably more expensive and labor intensive, getting even more costly when trying to source smaller quantities of the sodium citrate and potassium chloride. Would you recommend any substitutions to be able to create smaller batches economically (ie., baking soda instead of sodium citrate)?
I'm also concerned about flavor. This formula isn't going to help anyone if they won't drink it. My understanding is this would taste pretty bad. I'm wanting to use flavor powder, either sugar free or with the added sugar factored in, at additional cost. (The AI formulation cost has this product accounted for)
Sodium Citrate $116.80/50lbs
Potassium Chloride $127.50/50lbs
Dextrose $65/50lbs
Thank you for your time.