Iodine must be added to fine salt before being sold - Health DG

All fine salt or salt that weighs 20 kg or less must be added iodine before it can be sold in the country, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Amendments to the regulation was made following a nationwide study on iodine deficiency disorders which found that 48.2 per cent of primary school students, aged 8-10, suffered from iodine deficiency.

"Besides that, 2.1 per cent of children suffer from goitre. Surveys involving pregnant women and school students also revealed that their iodine intake did not reach the optimal level,” he said in a statement here today.

As such Dr Noor Hisham said the implementation of the Universal Salt Iodisation (USI) could help increase iodine intake in society, as salt is the basic ingredient that is used by everyone regardless of their income status.

He said the regulation is based on the amendments made to Regulation 285 regarding iodised salt under the Food Regulations 1985, gazetted on Nov 12, 2018 and would be enforced on Sept 30.

“The Ministry of Health (MOH) through the Food Safety and Quality Division (FSQD) will carry out monitoring and enforcement to ensure full compliance of the regulation,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham stressed that failure to comply with the amendment of the Regulation 285 is an offence and if convicted, manufacturers and traders can be fined RM10,000 or jailed not more than two years.

“Consumers are reminded that salt intake does not need to be increased because consuming salt in high quantity can lead to non-communicable diseases such as hypertension,” he said.

Consumers can contact the nearest district health office and the state health department and MOH via its website http://moh.spab.gov.my or the Facebook page of the FSQD at www.facebook.com/bkkmhq if they have any any queries about food safety and quality.

-- BERNAMA