TAMIL NADU RANKS LOWEST IN COVERAGE OF IODISED SALT

Sept. 11, 2019

According to a national survey to measure the coverage of iodised salt, Tamil Nadu has the lowest consumption of iodised salt despite being the third biggest producer of salt in the country.

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The survey was conducted by Nutrition International in collaboration with the AIIMS, Delhi and the Indian Coalition for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD).
The survey tested the iodine content in samples of cooking salt from households to estimate the coverage of iodised salt in 29 States and 7 Union Territories in India.

Key findings of survey:

The national average for household coverage is 76.3% i.e. 76.3% of Indian households consumed adequately iodised salt, which is salt with at least 15 parts per million of iodine.
The five worst performers were Tamil Nadu (61.9%), Andhra Pradesh (63.9%), Rajasthan (65.5%), Odisha (65.8%) and Jharkhand (68.8%).
The north-eastern States are doing very well with respect to iodised salt consumption at the household level because of the distance they have from the three salt producing states.
Gujarat produces 71% of salt in the country, followed by Rajasthan at 17% and Tamil Nadu at 11%. The rest of the country accounts for a mere 1% of salt produced.
13 out of 36 States have already achieved Universal Salt Iodisation.