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Salt Used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in Rural Schools of Limpopo Province, South Africa, has Adequate Levels of Iodine

BACKGROUND: Salt iodisation is considered the most effective long-term public health intervention for achieving optimal iodine nutrition. Effective salt iodisation is a prerequisite for the sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency disorders. The aim of this study was to determine iodine concentr...

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Autores principales: Ramugondo, Mpho, Mushaphi, Lindelani Fhumudzani, Mabapa, Ngoako Solomon
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Hindawi 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8187043/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34158977
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5522575
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author Ramugondo, Mpho
Mushaphi, Lindelani Fhumudzani
Mabapa, Ngoako Solomon
author_facet Ramugondo, Mpho
Mushaphi, Lindelani Fhumudzani
Mabapa, Ngoako Solomon
author_sort Ramugondo, Mpho
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Salt iodisation is considered the most effective long-term public health intervention for achieving optimal iodine nutrition. Effective salt iodisation is a prerequisite for the sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency disorders. The aim of this study was to determine iodine concentration of salt used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 359 food handlers from Vhembe and Mopani districts of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The questionnaire was administered to solicit data on demographic information, general questions on salt fortification, and iodine nutrition knowledge. After the interviews, two tablespoons of salt used for the NSNP food preparation was collected from 318 schools in small zip-lock plastic bags. The salt samples were coded and stored at room temperature and protected from light and moisture until the time of analysis. Salt iodine concentrations were determined at the North-West University (NWU) in Potchefstroom by means of the iCheck test method. RESULTS: The median iodine concentration of both Mopani (31.65 ppm) and Vhembe (32.56 ppm) districts signified adequate iodine levels. Of 318 salt samples, 113 (71%) samples in Mopani and 104 (65%) in Vhembe had an iodine concentration of 15–64 ppm. A few (6%) food handlers in Mopani and almost half (45.9%) in Vhembe could correctly identify iodated salt as the main source of iodine. Almost half of the food handlers (%) in Mopani and 36.5% in Vhembe did not know which part of body needs iodine for functioning. CONCLUSION: More than 20 years after the implementation of the USI program, the result of the study shows that the international goal of 90% coverage is still far from being realised.
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spelling pubmed-81870432021-06-21 Salt Used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in Rural Schools of Limpopo Province, South Africa, has Adequate Levels of Iodine Ramugondo, Mpho Mushaphi, Lindelani Fhumudzani Mabapa, Ngoako Solomon Biochem Res Int Research Article BACKGROUND: Salt iodisation is considered the most effective long-term public health intervention for achieving optimal iodine nutrition. Effective salt iodisation is a prerequisite for the sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency disorders. The aim of this study was to determine iodine concentration of salt used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 359 food handlers from Vhembe and Mopani districts of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The questionnaire was administered to solicit data on demographic information, general questions on salt fortification, and iodine nutrition knowledge. After the interviews, two tablespoons of salt used for the NSNP food preparation was collected from 318 schools in small zip-lock plastic bags. The salt samples were coded and stored at room temperature and protected from light and moisture until the time of analysis. Salt iodine concentrations were determined at the North-West University (NWU) in Potchefstroom by means of the iCheck test method. RESULTS: The median iodine concentration of both Mopani (31.65 ppm) and Vhembe (32.56 ppm) districts signified adequate iodine levels. Of 318 salt samples, 113 (71%) samples in Mopani and 104 (65%) in Vhembe had an iodine concentration of 15–64 ppm. A few (6%) food handlers in Mopani and almost half (45.9%) in Vhembe could correctly identify iodated salt as the main source of iodine. Almost half of the food handlers (%) in Mopani and 36.5% in Vhembe did not know which part of body needs iodine for functioning. CONCLUSION: More than 20 years after the implementation of the USI program, the result of the study shows that the international goal of 90% coverage is still far from being realised. Hindawi 2021-05-31 /pmc/articles/PMC8187043/ /pubmed/34158977 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5522575 Text en Copyright © 2021 Mpho Ramugondo et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Ramugondo, Mpho
Mushaphi, Lindelani Fhumudzani
Mabapa, Ngoako Solomon
Salt Used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in Rural Schools of Limpopo Province, South Africa, has Adequate Levels of Iodine
title Salt Used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in Rural Schools of Limpopo Province, South Africa, has Adequate Levels of Iodine
title_full Salt Used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in Rural Schools of Limpopo Province, South Africa, has Adequate Levels of Iodine
title_fullStr Salt Used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in Rural Schools of Limpopo Province, South Africa, has Adequate Levels of Iodine
title_full_unstemmed Salt Used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in Rural Schools of Limpopo Province, South Africa, has Adequate Levels of Iodine
title_short Salt Used for the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in Rural Schools of Limpopo Province, South Africa, has Adequate Levels of Iodine
title_sort salt used for the national school nutrition program (nsnp) in rural schools of limpopo province, south africa, has adequate levels of iodine
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8187043/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34158977
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5522575
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