Mumbai: On Tuesday, 91-year-old consumer activist Shiv Shankar Gupta, had claimed that there are high-level of potassium ferrocyanide in some variety of salts produced by Tata Chemicals. Countering that claim, Tata Chemicals issued a statement saying that the levels of potassium ferrocyanide is as per levels allowed by regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). In the statement, the company said, “The recent allegations made against the purity and health benefits of Tata Salt are totally false and misleading and being made by vested interests.” The company said that India is among countries like the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand that have permitted the use of potassium ferrocyanide in salt. While the level permitted by regulator FSSAI is 10 mg/kg, the Codex Alimentarius, an authoritative guideline on food safety, has declared potassium ferrocyanide as safe for consumption at levels of 14 mg/kg, the company counters. The company further explained that the chemical is permitted in salt and is safe if consumed as per approved levels.
It added that iodine is another essential micronutrient needed by the human body daily in small quantity, and is part of the government's efforts to address the issue of Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD). "Since 1983, Tata Salt has partnered with the government in this (IDD) initiative and played a pivotal role in the battle against iodine deficiency. As per FSSAI, adequate salt iodisation has saved four billion IQ points in the past 25 years," the company said.
