Iodised salt in school and nursery meals in Tyumen
What it found
In modelled nursery and school menus in Russia's Tyumen region, using iodised salt in cooking covered preschool children's iodine needs, while school breakfasts supplied only part of the daily recommended amount.
What they found
Nursery meals, city
In Tyumen nurseries, modelled iodine intake was 89 micrograms a day for children aged 1 to 3 and 115 micrograms a day for children aged 4 to 7. Adding baked goods made with iodised salt raised these to 101 and 126 micrograms a day.
Nursery meals, rural
In the rural area, intake was lower: 66 micrograms a day for children aged 1 to 3 and 83 micrograms a day for children aged 4 to 7. With baked goods made with iodised salt, these rose to 76 and 92 micrograms a day.
School breakfasts, city
In a Tyumen school, hot breakfasts with iodised salt supplied 24 micrograms a day for children aged 7 to 11 and 27 micrograms a day for those aged 12 and older. Adding baked goods made with iodised salt raised these to 32 and 39 micrograms a day.
School breakfasts, rural
In the rural area, breakfasts with iodised salt supplied 37 micrograms a day for children aged 7 to 11 and 40 micrograms a day for those aged 12 and older. With baked goods made with iodised salt, these rose to 44 and 50 micrograms a day.
Share of daily need
School breakfasts made with iodised salt provided 23.5 to 36.9% of the recommended iodine intake in rural schools and 15.4 to 26.4% in city schools.
What the authors conclude
“The use of IS in the preparation of salt-containing meals in preschool educational institutions of the Tyumen region fully covered the iodine requirements of preschool children, which confirms the effectiveness of the chosen strategy for the prevention of iodine deficiency and can be considered as an important part of the concept of universal salt iodization.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the use of iodised salt in salt-containing meals in preschool institutions of the Tyumen region fully covered the iodine requirements of preschool children, which confirms the effectiveness of the chosen strategy for preventing iodine deficiency.
- They add that this can be considered an important part of the concept of universal salt iodisation.
- They note that using iodised salt in school breakfast meals provides 23.5 to 36.9% of the recommended nutrient intake for iodine in rural schools and 15.4 to 26.4% in urban schools, which can be a significant contribution to total iodine intake.
How it was done
The Tyumen region has too little iodine in the environment, and since the early 1990s it has run programmes to increase the use of iodised salt in households, catering and the food industry. The authors wanted to assess how much iodine children actually get from iodised salt used in organised meals.
They modelled iodine intake from standard menus and dish recipe cards in randomly chosen nurseries and schools in the city of Tyumen and in a rural village, for children aged 1 to 3, 4 to 7, 7 to 11, and 12 and older. They assumed 40 micrograms of iodine per gram of salt and a 30% loss during cooking, and ran two models: one with iodised salt in all salt-containing meals, and one that also counted bread and baked goods made with iodised salt.
What it can’t tell you
- This is a modelling study based on standard menus and recipe cards, not a measurement of what children actually ate or of iodine levels in their bodies.
- It does not account for the natural iodine content of foods, which can vary widely.
- The method does not apply when other iodine carriers are used instead of iodised salt.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Authors declare no conflict of interests.
- Authors work at
- Tyumen State Medical University, Russian Federation; Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Russian Federation
The paper
- Title
- [Assessing of iodine consumption with iodized salt in organized nutrition of children of preschool and school age in the Tyumen region]
- Type
- Study
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Suplotova LA, Gerasimov GA, Troshina EA, et al (2023). [Assessing of iodine consumption with iodized salt in organized nutrition of children of preschool and school age in the Tyumen region]. Voprosy pitaniia. doi:10.33029/0042-8833-2023-92-4-29-37Free full textPubMed 37801452DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error