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.

Earlier studies had shown unchanged salt consumption in the UK and North America over the past 40 years. Thus, salt remains the best vehicle to deliver dietary iodine since salt intake is universal and its unchanging intake level makes it easy to calculate dosage.

"People in Scotland are eating nearly 9g per day on average...

"The results of this survey are similar to a previous survey carried out in Scotland in 2006, which suggests no significant change to salt intakes. Results are also similar to the last UK survey in 2008."