Iodized salt

Iodized salt is table salt mixed with a minute amount of various salts of the element iodine. Iodized table salt has been part of the American diet since the 1920s, when it was introduced to counteract a type of goiter cause by the iodine deficiency then widespread in some parts of the country. In the United States, about 50% of the general population uses iodized salt, whereas, in Canada, all table salt is fortified with iodine.

Iodine is a natural element that is essential to human life. Some of the most vital functions of the human body – such as proper development of brain and body and maintenance of body temperature – depend upon a steady supply of iodine.

Stabilized iodized salt contains 0.01 % potassium iodide (0.0076% I), or 76 mcg of iodine per gram. Thus, the average use of 3.4 g of iodized salt per person per day adds approximately 260 mcg to the daily intake, more than three times the normal requirement.

Iodine may also be provided in bread. But the practice of using iodates (chemicals used as dough conditioners) in bread-making appears to be on the decline.

Salt was preferred over other foods for a number of reasons including the widespread daily use of salt, the quantities of salt used remaining constant throughout the year regardless of season and socioeconomic status, the ability of salt to be integrated easily into animal feeds, and the simple an straightforward technology use to produce iodized salt.
Iodized salt