Meals, iodine content

IwARSSON K (1973) On the iodine content of mUk and the goitrogenic properties of rapeseed meal fed to cattle. Doctoral thesis, Royal Veterinary College, Stockholm, Sweden. 

Determination of the impact of regularly consumed canteen meals and quantification of their iodine content. 

Analysis of the iodine content in representative meals prepared with iodinated salt at the university canteen showed a mean iodine content of 72pg/meal, corresponding to nearly half of the WHO recommended daily iodine intake for adults (150pg/day) (WHO, 2001). Of note, iodine content in the individual menus differed considerably, ranging from 18 to 136.5 pg/meal (Table 43.5). 

Notes-. Weight = overall weight of the menu and weights of the meal constituents 1/100 g menu = iodine content in 100 g of the menu (average) l/menu = overall iodine content of fhe selecfed menu. 

The iodine content of different foods varies widely, and variations in food choice are important for variations in iodine excretion. Thus, a meal of cod may supply 400 times more iodine than a meal of meat from a terrestrial animal (Andersen et al, 2002a), and iodine excretion may vary by a factor of 4 within the same society, depending on the composition of meals (Andersen et al., 2005). Variable bioavailability may add to the variation in iodine excretion... 

Promotion of the enrichment of iodine content of certain drinks and foods, with the aid of health education such products are marked with a special logo. Health education is also focused on increased consumption of saltwater fish and other sea products. Consumption of these products has traditionally been low in the Czech Republic. It has been possible to increase this consumption, for example, in the form of meals provided to schoolchildren. 

The dietary associations were generally weak, but the true associations may have been masked by measurement error including that arising ffom intraindividual variation in spot measurements of urinary iodine. An individuals iodine concentration varies substantially day-to-day, due to the combined effects of circadian patterns of iodine excretion (Als et at, 2000), rapid renal clearance of dietary iodine following meals and inconsistency in the iodine content of food. We were able to average measures for children in the pre-intervention surveys who participated... 

Certain food additives contain iodine. For example, potassium iodate and calcium iodate are components of preparations for stabilising dough. The synthetic red food colouring erythrosine contains 58% iodine (fouriodineatomsinthemolecule).Therefore, foods coloured using this pigment have a higher iodine content, but the bioavailability of erythrosine iodine is low (2-5%). The content of iodine in foods and meals may also increase with the use of table salt fortified with iodine (as sodium iodide or sodium iodate). The iodine concentration in table salt is 20-50 mg/kg. 

Watabe, R. Sugiyama, and M. Suzuki, Iodine content of various meals currently consumed by urban Japanese, J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol. 32 487 (1986). 

My question relates to the so-called marked basket approach . Do you know if this includes the small meals and snacks which people are taking outside their normal meals and which constitutes an important source of salt. My second question concerns the high amounts of iodine present in bread in the US. Is this due to the iodine content of grain itself or to the processing of bread preparations ... 

Dietary surveys are useful to establish the sources of iodine in the diet and to monitor their changes. As described elsewhere, iodine is usually added to foodstuffs for commercial rather than health reasons, and changes in technology (frequently unannounced) may have major impact on dietary iodine. Periodic dietary surveys are useful for many aspects of human nutrition, and assessment for iodine should be included in such surveys on a regular basis. For example, regular analyses by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the content of iodine and other minerals in typical meals has identified the recent downward trend in American iodine ingestion (1,2). 

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