Logos, such as this one, are placed on salt packages to help consumers identify salt that contains added iodine. An example of a commonly distributed packet of iodized salt. An opened non iodized salt of table salt with iodide may rapidly lose its iodine content in high temperature and high relative humidity conditions through the process of oxidation and iodine sublimation.
Four inorganic compounds are used as iodide sources, depending on the producer: potassium iodate, potassium iodide, sodium iodate, and sodium iodide. Salt is an effective vehicle for distributing iodine to the public because it does not spoil and is consumed in more predictable amounts than most other commodities. For example, the concentration of iodine in salt has gradually increased in Switzerland: 3. Salt that is iodized with iodide may slowly lose its iodine content by exposure to excess air over long periods. It is theoretically impossible to develop an allergic reaction to iodine from the inorganic forms used in salt. There are no confirmed cases of an “iodine allergy”. Edible salt can be iodised by spraying it with a potassium iodate or potassium iodide solution.
Iodised salt with folic acid and fluorine. The folic acid gives a light yellow color to the salt. Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Salt producers are often, although not always, supportive of government initiatives to iodize edible salt supplies. Opposition to iodization comes from small salt producers who are concerned about the added expense, private makers of iodine pills, concerns about promoting salt intake, and unfounded rumors that iodization causes AIDS or other illnesses. Since 8 May 1967 salt for human or animal use must be iodised, according to the Law 17,259. Australian children were identified as being iodine deficient in a survey conducted between 2003 and 2004.
As a result of this study the Australian Government mandated that all bread with the exception of “organic” bread must use iodised salt. There remains concern that this initiative is not sufficient for pregnant and lactating women. Salt sold to consumers in Canada for table and household use must be iodized with 0. Sea salt and salt sold for other purposes, such as pickling, may be sold uniodized. Much of the Chinese population lives inland, far from sources of dietary iodine. In 1996, the Chinese Ministry of Public Health estimated that iodine deficiency was responsible for 10 million cases of intellectual developmetal disorders in China.
India and all of its states ban the sale of non-iodized salt for human consumption. Iodised salt was introduced to India in the late 1950s. Public awareness was increased by special programs and initiatives, both governmental and nongovernmental. As of now, iodine deficiency is only present in a few isolated regions which are still unreachable. In India, some people use Himalayan rock salt.
Rock salt however is low in iodine and should be consumed only when there are other iodine-rich foods in diet. Kazakhstan, a country in Central Eurasia in which local food supplies seldom contain sufficient iodine, has drastically reduced iodine deficiency through salt iodization programs. Campaigns by the government and non-profit organizations to educate the public about the benefits of iodized salt began in the mid-1990s, with iodization of edible salt becoming legally mandatory in 2002. The Salt Trading Corporation has been distributing Iodized Salt in Nepal since 1963.
Utilising non-Iodised salt for human consumption is prohibited. On December 20, 1995, Philippine President Fidel V. 2002 law signed by the Romanian parliament and republished in 2009, since 2002 iodized salt is distributed mandatory in the whole country. It is used mandatory on the market for household consumption, in bakeries, and for pregnant women. Iodised salt is optional though for animal consumption and the food industry, although widely used. The South African government instructed that all salt for sale was to be iodised after December 12, 1995. 20th century, goitres were especially prevalent in the region around the Great Lakes and the Pacific Northwest.