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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Salt with iron to be promoted

With high prevalence of anaemia in the country, the Indian government has decided to promote iron fortified iodised salt as a measure to deal with malnutrition.
Salt with iron to be promoted
A meeting was held in the Prime Minister's Office on the promotion of consumption of Iron fortified Iodized Salt as a measure to deal with malnutrition in the country.

The meeting noted that the prevalence of anaemia in majority of India’s population, particularly among adolescent girls, women and children, is a major public health challenge and it should be tackled urgently.

Anaemia is caused by inadequate intake and poor absorption of iron. Anaemia can be prevented and cured by promoting consumption of iron rich foods and iron supplements. One cost effective way of increasing the intake of iron is fortification of salt with iron in addition to iodine.

At present, salt in India is fortified only with iodine.

It, however, may take some time before double fortified salt (DFS) will be available in every district due to capacity restrictions. Sources said it may take over two years before every area is comprehensively covered.

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