Hanoi (VNA) - Experts have called on the Governmentof Vietnam to make salt iodisation mandatory once again or at least promote theproduction and use of iodised salt in food processing and breeding.

This is urgent as the country is one of just 19iodine-deficient countries in the world, according to the Iodine GlobalNetwork, a non-profit organisation for the sustainable elimination of iodinedeficiency worldwide.

Thanks to iodised salt, the number of iodine-deficientcountries has decreased from 110 in 1993 to only 19 in 2017.

In Vietnam, salt iodisation was mandatory from 1994 to 2005, duringthat time 93 percent of households were using adequately iodised salt.

Under the subsequent period of voluntary iodisation (2005–2016), however, the proportion of households using iodised salt rapidlydeclined to 45 percent in 2010.

A survey conducted by the National Hospital of Endocrinologyin 2013 and 2014 revealed that some 60 percent of Vietnamese households usesufficient amounts of iodine, a decrease of 33 percent from 2005. Moreover,some 10 percent of children aged 8-10 had goiter (abnormal enlargement of thethyroid gland), while the rate of children with goiter during years prior 2005was less than five percent.

Another survey by National Institute of Nutrition showed thatonly 6 percent of asked people said they used iodised salt while the 75 percentof asked people said that seasoned their food with fish sauce, soy sauce orother seasonings.

It is estimated that processed foods provide about 75 percentof salt intake to people and just 15 percent of salt intake is from eating saltdirectly. Thus, in countries where iodine is not used in processing food, thesalt intake of people could be reduced.

The institute’s Director Le Danh Tuyen said that between 1994and 2005, Vietnam successfully implemented a national programme on IodineDeficiency Disorders Control, through which, iodine was added to all salt usedby people in the country.

However, the result was not maintained after the nationaliodine programme was stopped, he said.

Don Hong Phuong, an officer from the United NationsChildren’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), clarified that authorities had closed downmandatory iodine fortification after 2005, and stopped funding the nationalgoiter prevention plan.

"In recent years, Vietnamese people used more foodseasonings rather than iodine in cooking, which has resulted in increasingiodine deficiency," said Phuong, adding that food seasonings wereconvenient and seemingly made the food tastier.

"In 2016, Vietnam’s Government issued a decree on addingmicronutrition to food, in which salt used for direct eating or food processingmust contain iodine. The decree took effect in March 2017, but few foodproducers have followed the guidelines.

“Food producers say that adding iodine increased theirproduction cost, disrupted production lines, and even change the taste, colourand expiration date of their products,” she said.

According to UNICEF, iodine deficiency will causemiscarriages, goitre and brain damage in the fetus during pregnancy. Therecommended dietary allowance of iodine is 90-120 mcg/day for children aged 1to 11 years old and 150 mcg/day for adults and adolescents. Besides iodisedsalt, people can take iodine from sea fish, seaweed, amaranth, watercress oralgal.-VNA