How much fluoride is in “fluoridated salt”?

FAQ on Salt Fluoridation
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How much fluoride is in “fluoridated salt”?

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How much fluoride is in “fluoridated salt”?

Salt is most commonly fluoridated at 250 parts per million (ppm) (range 200 - 350ppm) which means 2,5 mg of fluoride for every 10 grams of salt.

It was presumed that the “individual application” (meaning use of the salt shaker at the table, for the “sprinkling over food”) would contribute 1 to 4 g of the daily salt intake, thus a person would take in 1 mg of fluoride a day at a salt intake of 4 grams a day - 1 mg/day being the “optimal” dose of fluoride intake to “protect against caries”.

This is the same concept as in water fluoridation, where the drinking water was fluoridated at 1ppm or 1 mg/liter, presuming that people would on average drink 4 glasses of water a day (one glass at 0.25 mg), thus take in said “optimal level” of 1 mg fluoride a day.

However, the majority of the fluoridated salt is not used for “sprinkling over food” but for domestic food preparation (cooking, baking, etc) - just like fluoridated water is not merely used for drinking. The use of fluoridated salt (250 ppm) for baking alone may provide much more than the “optimal” intake already for anyone consuming baked goods.

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PFPC Fluoridated Salt FAQ - © 2004 PFPC

REFERENCES:

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k+s Report 2000 (in German)

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Marthaler (in German)
Under the heading: Zur Toxizität der Fluoride - derzeitiger Stand der Erkenntnis

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PAHO - General Guidelines for Drafting a Legal Framework: Mandatory Iodization and Fluoridation of Salt for Human Consumption Division of Health Systems and Services Development Regional Program on Oral Health (November 2001)

PAHO Press Release, Aug. 23, 1996
http://poisonfluoride.com/pfpc/html/paho_1996.html

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