Enforce law on iodised salt

Participants at a day's seminar on Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) on Wednesday called for the strict enforcement of the law on the sale and marketing of iodised salt.

The Food and Drugs law among other things says salt should be fortified with potassium, protein, essential amino acids, vitamins and other nutritional substances to enhance its nutritional value.

It also states that no person shall label, package, sell or advertise salt in a manner that is likely to be mistaken for salt of the prescribed standard.

The participants recommended that iodated salt should be repacked and made affordable to every Ghanaian while education and awareness programmes are intensified and translated into the local languages to achieve the necessary impact.

The seminar under the theme: "Collaborating to achieve universal salt iodisation in Ghana" is aimed at checking the high prevalence of the IDD and improve on production, sale and use of iodised salt.

In Ghana a total of 3,847 cases of goitre has been recorded in 27 districts. Seriously affected district include Hohoe, Kwahu South, Adansi West, Nkwanta and Zabzugu Tatale.

Mrs. Rosanna Agble, Head of the Nutrition Unit of the Ministry of Health said surveys conducted in 1998 revealed that household use of iodated salt ranges between 22.1 percent to 28.0 percent having increased from 0.3 percent in 1997.

She said though the rate of use of iodised salt is good, it is fairly low compared to the level of awareness about the salt.

"Though Ghana produces more salt than other salt producing countries our iodised salt consumption is rather very low."