The use of common salt (sodium chloride) fortified with iron to control anaemia: results of a preliminary study

Abstract

1. Iron-deficiency anaemia continues to be a major public health problem in all developing countries. Fortification of commonly consumed food items has been suggested as an effective method of preventing anaemia. Common salt (sodium chloride) has been identified as a suitable vehicle to be fortified with Fe in India. 2. Common salt was fortified with ferric orthophosphate (3500 mg/kg) and sodium hydrogen sulphate (5000 mg/kg) to provide an additional 1 mg elemental Fe/g common salt consumed. 3. After ascertaining the acceptability of the fortified salt with respect to its colour, taste and bioavailability a pilot feeding trial was conducted among residential schoolchildren in Hyderabad. Feeding of the fortified salt for a period of 1 year resulted in a significant increase in the haemoglobin level of these children. There was also a significant reduction in the prevalence of anaemia among children given the fortified salt. 4. Before the same fortified salt is recommended as a public health measure to prevent Fe-deficiency anaemia among our population it is necessary that further large-scale community trials with this fortified salt are carried out particularly among the rural population.

Fortification Strategies to Combat Zinc and Iron Deficiency

“…When the particle size is smaller, the iron absorption is higher, but the product is also much more expensive. 17,19,24,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37] Whitaker reviewed the use of some iron compounds in food forti cation. 10 He concluded that the use of elemental iron to fortify foods increased because it is inexpensive to produce and because organoleptic problems associated with it are minimal.…”

Prospects of fortification of salt with iron and iodine

“…The major part of salt production is confined to two or three states in India and a well-defined distribution and monitoring machinery is in place. Technology for production of iron fortified salt (Narasinga Rao & Vijayasarathy, 1975;Narasinga Rao & Vijayasarathy, 1978;Nadiger et al 1980; Report of the Working Group on Fortification of Salt with Iron, 1982) and iodine and iron fortified salt has been developed in India mainly through the efforts of National Institute of Nutrition (Narasinga Brahmam et al 1994;Ranganathan et al 1996;Nair et al 1998a;Nair et al 1998b).…”

Iron Deficiency Alleviation in Developing Countries

“…Many experiments on food fortification have been conducted in developing countries. These include fortification of sugar in Guatemala (Viteri et al 1995a), fish sauce in Thailand (Garby & Areekul, 1974), curry powder in South Africa (Ballot et al 1980), and salt in India (Nadiger et al 1980; Working Group on the Fortification of Salt with Iron, 1982). The experiments reported favourably in terms of acceptability by the target population as well as improving their iron status.…”