Evaluation of Iodine in Distributed Salts in Abarkouh City in 2017-2018

Iodine deficiency and associated disorders, which lead to a wide range of clinical manifestations, have been raised as one of the health and nutritional problems in Iran. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the amount of iodine in distributed salts in Abarkouh city in 2017-2018. Random sampling was done by census on all 30 distributed brands in Abarkouh city in the different stores across the city. Sixty samples (30 samples after one month from the production date and 30 samples after 6 months from the production date) were collected and transferred to the laboratory. The measurement of iodine was done according to the British Pharmacopoeia recommended method. T-test was used to analyze the data. The Mean iodine concentration in the salts supplied in the Abarkouh was 29.83 ± 19.9 ppm, which was 50% less than the Iran's standard, with a statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.001). 66.6% of the studied brands did not contain adequate iodine. Six months after production date, the average iodine amount in salts was reduced to 24.26 ± 16.94 ppm, but the reduction was not statistically significant (P = 0.224). Average iodine amount in most of the salts supplied across the Abarkouh city was not acceptable and some salts lacked iodine. Therefore, careful and continuous supervision and monitoring the process of iodized salts production in factories is recommended.