Australian bakers are being reminded that they need to replace the salt that they currently use in bread making with iodised salt later this year.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand chief executive officer, Steve McCutcheon, said the baking industry needs to be aware of the changes that will become mandatory from October 9.

‘Iodine is essential for good health and mild iodine deficiency has re-emerged in Australia over the last 10 to 15 years,” McCutcheon said. “FSANZ has developed a mandatory iodine fortification standard to help address this iodine deficiency in Australia and New Zealand.”

‘The new standard requires the replacement of non-iodised salt in all bread, where salt is added, with iodised salt with a range of 25 to 65 milligram of iodine per kilogram of salt. It also applies to the small amount of bread imported into Australia, usually as frozen dough. However, bread described as organic is exempt.

FSANZ last week launched its Australian User Guide for Mandatory Iodine Fortification. The user guide explains exactly what bakers have to do to replace the current salt they use with iodised salt. This must be done in all products made from bread dough that contain yeast and salt.

This includes loaves, buns, rolls, pita, naan, focaccia, pide, bagels, topped breads, buns and rolls (such as cheese and bacon rolls), baked English-style muffins, sweet buns, and fruit breads or rolls.

The guide also details what labelling changes may be needed, for example, if the bread is packaged and not made on the premises where it is sold then iodised salt must be listed in the ingredients list.

The Australian User Guide for Mandatory Iodine Fortification can be found on the FSANZ website.