Israel Ministry of Health Advances Regulations to Mandate Iodized Salt
The Israeli Ministry of Health is advancing regulations to mandate adding iodine to household table salt within two years, addressing severe deficiencies found in 60% of children and 85% of pregnant women.
Amid data indicating a significant iodine deficiency among children and pregnant women, the Ministry of Health is advancing new regulations that will mandate the addition of iodine to household table salt. The move was presented on Tuesday by Prof. Sigal Sadetsky, head of the Public Health Services division, and Dr. Moran Bleichfeld-Magenazi, director of the Nutrition Division at the Ministry of Health. According to the ministry, the regulations are expected to be implemented within about two years.
According to ministry data, a 2016 survey of more than 1,000 school-aged children and about 1,000 pregnant women from all regions and sectors in Israel found that about 60% of children and about 85% of pregnant women suffered from iodine deficiency. Data from the National Biological Monitoring Program collected between 2020 and 2021 also pointed to a similar picture, with no significant improvement in the population's iodine status compared to 2016.
Public Health Importance of Iodine
«Enriching table salt with iodine is a step of great importance for public health», said Prof. Sadetsky.
According to her, iodine is an essential nutrient that the body does not produce on its own and therefore must be obtained through diet. It is necessary for the production of thyroid hormones, which are involved, among other things, in growth, development, and metabolism. Iodine deficiency can cause cognitive and neurological impairment, enlargement of the thyroid gland (goiter) and hypothyroidism, as well as an increased risk of birth defects, stillbirth, and infant mortality.
Prof. Sadetsky noted that salt iodization is a long-standing and proven public health intervention implemented in many countries around the world. The ministry points out that more than 120 countries mandate salt iodization. After the regulations take effect, the ministry intends to conduct biological monitoring to examine the impact of the move on iodine levels in the population and update the enrichment level as needed.
The Impact of Desalinated Water
Dr. Bleichfeld-Magenazi explained that natural dietary sources of iodine include fish, dairy products, and eggs, but iodine content in foods is not fixed and may vary. A Ministry of Health document also notes that Israel's extensive reliance on desalinated water, which has very low iodine concentrations, has reduced the already limited contribution of drinking water to iodine intake.
The regulations will apply to table salt for household use, and not to coarse salt, specialty salts, or salt used by the food industry. According to the ministry, table salt accounts for about 85%-90% of household salt purchases in Israel, but salt added at home or during food preparation accounts for only about 15% of daily salt consumption, while the majority of salt in the diet comes from processed and industrial foods. The planned enrichment level is 30 mg of iodine per kg of salt, and it is expected to add about 45 micrograms of iodine to daily consumption.
The ministry emphasizes that the move does not change the recommendation to reduce salt consumption. The intention is to replace regular table salt with iodized salt without increasing the total amount of salt consumed. According to Dr. Bleichfeld-Magenazi, discussions with the industry revealed that the cost of adding iodine is low and is not expected to lead to an increase in consumer prices, and the taste of the salt is not expected to change either.
