Profile of iodine content of salt at trader level in the selected districts of India: Part i - Madhya Pradesh
Kapil, U.; Singh, C.; Mathur, A.; Ramachandran, S.; Yadav, R.
Indian Journal of Maternal and Child Health Official Publication of Indian Maternal and Child Health Association 8(2): 51-52
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0970-8928 PMID: 12292800 Document Number: 273092
Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) are endemic in Madhya Pradesh. Since consuming iodized salt is the best way to prevent IDD, the government of Madhya Pradesh under the National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Program (NIDDCP) has followed a policy of universal salt iodization (USI) since 1984, under which the state's population receives only iodized salt. However, despite this policy, the prevalence of IDD remains high in Madhya Pradesh. UNICEF-PAMM-MI-WHO-ICCIDD recently recommended monitoring the iodine content of salt at the trader level as a means of assessing the quality of salt being consumed by the population. The authors assessed the iodine content and types of iodized salt being sold by traders in Bastar, Dhar, Indore, Morena, Ratlam, Shahdol, Sidhi, Sihore, and Vidisha districts. From each district, more than 7 salt samples were collected from traders in district and block markets. Analysis of a total 108 salt samples using the standard iodometric titration method found that all samples contained some iodine. 35% of the traders, however, were selling salt containing less than 15 ppm of iodine, below the state government recommended minimum level of salt iodization for the retail level.