Civic body reps to raise awareness on iodised salt: Expert

MADURAI: Raise awareness on the importance of taking iodised salt at the panchayat level, A Sankar, honorary secretary, Empower India, Centre for Consumer Education and Research Centre, Thoothukudi said on Thursday.

The head of the consumer awareness organisation called upon civic body heads to use the grama sabha meetings to be held on the occasion of the Independence day for the purpose, as directed by the Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. It is essential to ensure production and sale of iodised salt as iodine deficiency can lead to serious disorders, he highlighted. Ensuring that the whole population consumes iodised salt is the simple way to avoid such health issues, the activist added.

The head of the civic awareness body cautioned the public on the sale of non-iodised salt for human consumption, which is being mislabeled as ‘salt for preservative purposes.’ He lamented that the leaders of the village panchayats remain ill-informed about the value of iodine.

The clarion call assumes significance as Thoothukudi holds a prominent position as a major salt production centre in India, second only to the salt-producing regions of Gujarat. By ensuring that village panchayat meetings take forward the message of consuming iodised salt will restrict the production and distribution of non-iodised ones, he said.

According to the health department, edible salt must be iodised as advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is mandatory to maintain 30 ppm of iodine in salt at the manufacturer stage and 15 ppm of iodine at retailer end. The manufactured salt should possess a minimum of 95 percent of sodium chloride and moisture content optimally should be less than six pecent, he said.

G Gragadurai, former president, Thoothukudi Small Scale Salt Manufacturers Association said that a required amount of iodine is being added to manufactured salt, but still some buyers demand non iodised salt, as iodine is a chemical substance.