Promotion of iodised salt to benefit companies: Committee

New Delhi, Apr 18 (UNI) A team of doctors including the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) promoting the consumption of iodised salt at a public meeting in Agra has been exposed to an 'unpalatable' revelation that intake of excessive iodine has already caused health problems to many people in the city and surrounding areas.

On an average, every alternative house has a person in the area inflicted with thyroid, a disease caused by excess of iodine in food, Sadharan Namak Bachao Abhiyan Committee (SNBAC) said in a statement here today.

Despite this known fact, the Agra district medical authorities participated in the UNICEF sponsored campaign for promoting the consumption of iodised salt to increase the intake of iodine by the people of the area", said member of SNBAC's Coordination Committee Anil Chamdria.

Interestingly, the CMO at the UNICEF campaign last week on April 12 told the audience that Uttar Pradesh had ten crore people suffering from goitre and other related ailments due to inadequate consumption of iodine which could be supplemented through the intake of iodised salt only.

But, when the CMO was confronted by some knowledgeable people that as per the Central government's official figure, there were only 1.5 crore people throughout the country suffering from some ailments because of lack of iodine consumption, he retracted the campaigners statement, the release said.

The CMO even accepted the fact publicly that people in the area were suffering from some ailments because of excess consumption of iodine.

The Committee criticised the UNICEF sponsored campaign for iodised salt which, it said, is being imposed on the unsuspecting people without any survey about the factual position on the ground.

It also alleged that the campaign was aimed '' not at helping Indians on how to maintain their health but to benefitting the salt companies, a majority of them multinationals".

UNI