PHIs to check salt

2 July 2011 10:50 am

By Lakna Paranamanna

Public Health Inspectors (PHI) have been instructed to investigate the quality of table salt sold in stores, after research revealed that over 30 percent of table salt sold in stores do not contain Iodine, Health Ministry said.

Health Ministry Spokesman W.M.D. Wanninayake told Daily Mirror Online that a recent survey carried out to check levels of Iodine content in table salt has revealed that only 68 percent of salt sold in markets contain Iodine.

“It has been made compulsory through regulations to mix Iodine in table salt. When regulations were issued concerning the Iodine content, over 90 percent of manufacturers adhered to the rules. But now over 30 percent of table salt sold in stores does not contain Iodine at all,” he said. As a result, the PHIs have been instructed to take legal action against stores that sell discoloured or low quality table salt as well as salt that does not contain Iodine.

Iodine deficiency can result in thyroid gland complications, slow brain growth, male infertility and miscarriages. (Daily Mirror Online)