China's efforts to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), a major health threat of the Chinese, have been accelerated by salt iodization.

Most of Chinese salt makers so far are able to produce and package iodized salt, the most convenient and effective measure toprevent IDD, according to sources of the salt industry.

Annual production capacity of iodized salt has reached 8.06 million tons, and the quality has been noticeably improved since anational project to boost salt iodization was launched in 1995.

The industry is using advanced packaging technology to prevent iodine added to the salt from volatilizing, and is labeling the iodized salt for consumers' convenience.

IDD can cause mental disabilities and result in miscarriages, pre-mature births and a lowering of intelligence in infants. IDD-related problems have been reported throughout the country, and over 80 percent of the nation's 10 million cases of mental disability are a result of IDD, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).

China plans to eliminate IDD this year in order to respond the World Health Organization's call for global elimination of IDD. Ninety-five percent of the salt used by the Chinese residents should be iodized.

So far, about 90 percent of Chinese citizens have access to iodized salt, and the incidence rate of goiter, a common disease cause by IDD, dropped to 10.86 percent in 1998 from 24.43 percent in 1995, MOH statistics show.