Iodised salt quality can be improved in UP

The march for the availability of completely iodised salt all over India may not be over yet. According to a recent report, though the government programme for introduction of iodised salt throughout the country is a relative success, the quality of iodisation needs to be improved. A survey, conducted by researchers from the Department of Human Nutrition at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, in 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh concluded that though salt was being iodised, the quantity of iodine being added was lower than the prescribed limit. According to recommendations, iodisation of salt requires 15 ppm (parts per million) of iodine to be added to the salt. It was observed, in this study, that 2.7% of 4576 families consumed non-iodised salt, while 57% consumed salt that had less than the required ppm level of iodine. The districts of Agra, Meerut and Bareilly received more salt with nil iodine content. The study also revealed that the salt was being iodised but it was being lost in the process of production or distribution. The districts that received the salt samples by road had more samples of salt with no iodine content than those, which received their salt by rail. This was probably because there is careful monitoring of the salt samples by officers of the salt department when they are transferred by trains while no such monitoring is done when they are transferred by road. Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) comprise the major endocrine disorders in India. 235 of the 275 districts in all the states of India report and alarming number of people afflicted with iodine deficiency every year. To overcome this, the government has undertaken Universal Salt Iodisation policy under the National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (NIDDCP). The sale of non-iodised salt has been banned in India since 1984-85. There is thus need for strengthening and monitoring the quality of iodised salt.

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