Iodine Global Network (IGN)

Iodine in the global news

19. October 2011

Ghanaian salt iodization mobilizes media

Ghana's Food and Drugs Board recently conducted a workshop for journalists "to propagate the need to sue iodated salt," ModernGhana reported October 19. Among the topics presented were iodine deficiency disorders, the importance of iodated salt in the...

12. October 2011

Filipino town requires sale of iodized salt

Adding local muscle to the national Filipino campaign for iodized salt, the town of Siayan in Zamboanga del Norte has enacted a municipal ordinance requiring grocers and restaurants to sell and use iodozed salt, reports the Philippine Information Ag...

02. October 2011

Angola launches iodized salt awareness campaign

Angola's National Institute for Consumer Protection is promoting the use of iodized salt in a new campaign tied to International Day, October 19. The objective is to inform the public to insist on buying salt labeled "iodized." ANGOP has the story.

18. September 2011

Pakistani survey finds food insecurity, iodine deficiency

About 60% of Pakistan's population faces food insecurity according to a new National Nutrition Survey reported by The Express Tribune (with the International Herald Tribune) in September. Iodine deficiency was documented, but the "iodine deficiency rate...

18. September 2011

Salt-deprived Afghans catch a break

Many American charitable groups, including churches, have voiced concern about the plight of women in Afghanistan. News comes from the Missoulian (Missoula, MT) that one group is doing something more than talk about it. The St. Ann of Bonner and Seeley...

11. July 2011

Substituting organic for conventional milk could compromise brain development: UK study

A new study by Bath and colleagues from the University of Surrey and published in the British Journal of Nutrition examines the iodine concentration in organic versus conventional cow's milk and concludes that the relative lack of iodine in organic milk...

09. July 2011

Indian court continues ban on non-iodized food salt

The Supreme Court of India has granted a 6-month extension of the ban on non-iodized salt, but the justices urged the Legislature to enact a more permanent policy, warning: "if it fails to take any action within the expiry of six months from today, Rule...

06. July 2011

National coalition in the Philippines sees progress with small co-ops

A coalition of local salt producers (TAMACO) in partnership with GAIN, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, UNICEF, government agencies and two salt industry associations, is seeing progress in its efforts to lift the country's current salt...

03. July 2011

Backsliding in Sri Lanka prompts promise of enforcement

The government of Sri Lanka reported July 3 that consumption of iodized salt has slipped to 58% because consumers are purchasing non-iodized "salt that is discolored or contain(s) impurities." By law, all food salt must contain 15-30 micrograms/kg. ...

22. June 2011

Yet another study confirms salt as best vehicle for iodine fortification

The study results were unsurprising. What was surprising was that the sponsoring organization released them. The Scottish Food Standards Agency conceded in a study released June 22 that salt intake in Scotland is unchanged over the past 5 years. ...

17. June 2011

Kazakhstan lab certified part of regional resource labs for iodine

UNICEF, the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh Academy of Nutrition have announced Kazakhstan will provide the resource laboratory for 15 countries in the region in order to reinforce monitoring of IDD and its elimination through universal...

11. June 2011

British teenage girls iodine deficient: Lancet

As first reported here in mid-April and then again this week published in Lancet and reported in the general media, a new study of British teenage girls has found the majority are mildly iodine deficient and the average intake is barely half the...

08. June 2011

Brain development, poverty in Mozambique

Two-thirds of African children don't officially exist -- they don't have birth certificates, reports theHuffington Post. A story from a World Bank official describes the role of iodine and other vital nutrients in overcoming poverty. "How come...

02. June 2011

Zimmerman becomes new ICCIDD executive director

ICCIDD has a new executive director: Swiss scientist Michael Zimmermann. Since 2005, Zimmermann has been editor of ICCIDD’s flagship IDD Newsletter. Zimmermann pledged renewed emphasis on protecting expectant mothers and infants during a child’s ...

01. June 2011

Haxton steps down as ICCIDD Executive Director

David P. Haxton has stepped down as executive director of ICCIDD, a position he has held since 2005. His primary message has been: IDD is the most preventable form of mental retardation, and optimal daily iodine nutrition can prevent it. His leadership...

27. May 2011

Jordan achieves "sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency"

Zawya.com reports that Jordan's 2010 National Survey to Assess Iodine Deficiency Disorders among School Children has documented a reduction in goiter prevalence from 33.5% in 2000 to 4.9%. The study of 4,600 children aged 8-10 was conducted jointly with...

25. May 2011

Relapse in Vietnam?

People who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Vietnam's Central Endocrine Hospital has just reported that use of iodized salt in Hanoi has plunged from nearly 100% in 2005 to 25.6% today with "similar decreases" in Ho Chi Minh City...

16. May 2011

China customizes salt iodization level

May 15 was "Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day" in China and the Ministry of Health used the occasion to announce that the single national standard for iodized salt in the world's most populous country will be customized by region to deliver the...

13. May 2011

WHO extends University of Pisa's Collaborating Center

The University of Pisa Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism will continue for at least another four years as a World Health Organization "Collaborating Center for the Study and Treatment of Thyroid Diseases and other Endocrine and Metabolic...

07. May 2011

UAE achieves 94% coverage of iodized salt; celebrates success

The United Arab Emirates conducted a seminar this week celebrating its achievement of IDD freedom; 94% of the population has access to iodized salt. ICCIDD chair Jerry Burrow and regional coordinator Izzeldin Hussein participated in the event in Dubai. ...

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