Fortification of iodine with salt hits roadblock

PUNE, Oct 14: Fortification of iodine with salt to address health problems has hit road block with companies that created capacities to m...

PUNE, Oct 14: Fortification of iodine with salt to address health problems has hit road block with companies that created capacities to manufacture iodized salt working at less than 50 per cent capacities. While selling iodized salt had been made mandatory by the government, litigation and resistance from two or three state governments had affected the national coverage of the programme.

Production of iodised salt is only around 40 lakh metric tonnes while industry has an installed capacity to manufacture iodized salt was around 110 lakh metric tonnes. The railways had given priority for rail movement of iodised salt, but with pressure mounting on the railways to extend this facility to non-iodised salts too. The pricing of fortified salts is perceived to be higher by the consumers and this is also a major deterrent.

These issues came up at a conference on “Micronutrient fortification of food” organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and the International Life Sciences Institute in Pune. Fortification is being accepted as a way of making up for micronutrient deficiencies which result in death, disability and loss of national productivity.

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Despite such hurdles there is great potential for the food processing industry by fortifying foods such as sugar, edible oil, milk, wheat flour and other bakery products. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has constituted an expert committee to look into fortification and create an enabling environment for the industry to make food fortification commercially viable.

Shobha Koshy, director, of Prevention of Food Adulteration, Ministry of Health said that the Ministry would undertake an exercise to review relevant portions of the PFA Act that would be needed to enable fortification.