Ignore rumours on salt devoid of iodine: Tamil Nadu family welfare minister 

THOOTHUKUDI: Medical and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian has appealed to the public not to pay heed to any rumours about iodine-free salt being circulated on social media. Recently, some messages had gone viral on WhatsApp claiming that iodine was not required in edible salt.

Addressing a meeting of salt production units' owners from Thoothukudi, Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Pudukottai and Chengalpattu districts at the Arignar Anna Thirmana Mandapam on Monday, the minister instructed them to mix the mandatory proportion of iodine with salt during production for the sake of public health.

"Iodine was mandated in salt following stipulations laid down by the World Health Organisations (WHO). Iodine deficiency may lead to goitre, thyroid, mental illness, brain development abnormality, child mortality and fetal deaths. In order to address the increasing incidence of anaemia, the State government has mandated double-fortification of salt with iodine and iron," he added.

Subramanian urged the salt producers to strictly comply with the FSSAI's packaging and labelling norms. Responding to their demand to slash the required purity standard of salt from 96% to 92% as moisture content is high during the rainy season, the minister assured to take the issue to the notice of the Union government. He also released a toll-free number -- 94440 42322 -- for the public to lodge complaints regarding the product and other services.

BA4 variant patient recovering: Minister
 
Later in the day, Ma Subramanian met media persons at Thoothukudi airport and said the Omicron BA4 variant patient identified at Navalur in Chengalpattu district was recovering. "The number of Covid-19 infections has drastically declined following the strict measures taken by Chief Minister MK Stalin. Now, less than 50 cases get reported daily and the mortality rate has been zero for the past two and a half months," he added.

The minister also assured to fill over 4,000 vacancies in the medical department soon through the Medical Recruitment Board. "The State government has increased the salaries of  4,448 nurses and 2,448 health workers recruited under the Makalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme by `4,000 and `3,000 respectively," he further said.

'Annamalai should read newspapers daily'

When asked about BJP State president K Annamalai giving the State government a 72-hour deadline to slash fuel prices, Subramanian said every State has been criticising the Union government's strategy of increasing fuel taxes, and then asking the states to decrease it. "The question here is who is increasing the prices? If you know the answer to that then you will know who should reduce it. Annamalai should read newspapers everyday to understand what other states think of the Centre's pricing strategy," he concluded