ABSTRACT
Sustaining the achievement of the goal of universal salt iodization (USI) is essential to meet the daily needs of the nutrient iodine, which is lacking in our food items that grow in soil that is depleted of iodine due to environmental degradation. This chapter tracks the events of the large-scale trials on fortification of salt with iodine, formulation of national policy, shift in focus from Goiter Control to Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Control and presents the actions that led to improving access to iodized salt and achieving the goal of USI. At the international level, in 1883, fortification of salt with iodine was proposed for the prevention of goiter while large-scale trials were conducted in the United States in 1916 and later in Switzerland. The NGCP policy 1984 stressed on compulsory iodization of salt for human consumption in the entire country. The USI strategy took into consideration the international events and key global experiences.
