Iodine Content of Malaysian Foods

Background: Iodine is an essential mineral that is important for human nutrition. Iodine content was determined in 138 Malaysian food samples using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Method: The samples include 31 cereal products, 9 starchy root and tuber products, 4 legume products, 11 nut and seed products, 4 vegetables, 5 fruits, 22 sugar and syrup products, 3 meat products, 3 eggs, 7 fishes, 14 milk products, 11 oil and fat products, 1 beverage and 13 other food products. Up to six different brands were sampled from local supermarkets in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Results: The results showed that the concentration of iodine in the Malaysian food samples varied according to food groups. The iodine values were found to be in range of 3.71-100.64 μg/100 g for cereal products, 8.78-53.50 μg/100 g for starchy root and tuber products, 6.72-30.19 μg/100 g for legume products, 8.16-35.98 μg/100 g for nut and seed products, 1.57-2.44 μg/100 g for vegetables, 1.56-2.20 μg/100 g for fruits, 0.06-23.90 μg/100 g for sugar and syrups products, 5.79-24.36 μg/100 g for meat products, 16.88-158.70 μg/100 g for eggs, 25.21-53.27 μg/100 g for fish, 8.57-61.63 μg/100 g for milk products, 3.58-160.00 μg/100 g for oil and fat products and 2.84-56.72 μg/100 g for other food products. Conclusion: In conclusion, Malaysian foods showed large variation in iodine content with main iodine food source from the marine environment, iodized salt and fortified animal feeds.