Status of Iodine Nutrition in the United Kingdom

Abstract

There is very little information on iodine intakes or their adequacy in Britain. Studies in the 1960s suggested that iodine intake was around 100μg per day and less than this in some goitrous areas (1). The Department of Health and Social Security suggested an intake of 150μg/day in 1969 would be adequate for health but recognised that this may be difficult to achieve without iodisation of salt. Studies of patients with non-toxic goitre in Scotland in this decade showed evidence of iodine deficiency (a subnormal plasma inorganic iodine). The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food evaluated the iodine content of British food in 19 76 based on historical values for iodine content. The main iodine sources (% daily intake) were fish and fish products (26%), milk and milk products (19%), cereals (14%) and vegetables (12%). Total intake was 86.3μg/person/day. A survey between 19 77 and 19 79 in which nearly 200 individual food samples were analysed showed that fruit and sugars (which included glacé cherries containing erythrosine) accounted for 29% of daily intake and milk for 28% (2).