Hey Elwin,
 
Thought you would find this interesting...I researched the topic of how baking soda is obtained and found that ALL baking soda in the USA is from the same area, made from nahcolite, a naturally occurring substance found in the Green River Formation in Colorado which is mined and then processed with water.  Before this method was developed,  baking soda was manufactured using the Solvay method which comes from the ore trona, mined and then processed using sodium chloride, ammonia, carbon dioxide and water.  This method is still used in India and other places on the planet which produce about 3/4 of the baking soda in the world. You can read about it here:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvay_process  

 
More info on the current process here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate 
 
 
The Solvay process is no longer used here in the USA because it is more expensive and less earth-friendly than the much healthier water process. ALL baking soda made here in the USA including Arm and Hammer and the baking soda you find in the dollar stores is made the same way as Bob's Red Mill. Just be sure "made in the USA" is written on the package. So, we can celebrate that we can use the 50 cent boxes as confidently as we do Bob's for $.3.69. Yea!!!!
 
There is an excellent e-book by Dr. Mark Sircus on the researched uses of baking soda...perhaps this is also one of your information sources. 
 
Here is the note I received from Bob's Red Mill in answer to my questions of whether there is aluminum in any baking soda and where their baking soda comes from:
 

From: Elizabeth O <elizabeth@bobsredmill.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 7:13 PM
Subject: Bob's Red Mill: Product Information
To: onewhtdove@aol.com

Hello Mary Lou,

Thank you for your inquiry. Our Baking Soda is mined out of the earth in Western Colorado using a simple water filtration process. Most baking soda on the market today does not contain aluminum; it was typically added as an anti-caking agent back in the day. We originally labeled our Baking Soda as aluminum free because we received a very high volume of calls and letters regarding the issue when the safety of ingesting aluminum was making headlines. In the last few years, we’ve considered taking this information off of the label because it’s essentially irrelevant, however, I’m sure you can imagine the confusion that would generate.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Have a great weekend!

Elizabeth
Customer Service
Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, Inc.
http://www.bobsredmill.com


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