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. 2024 Apr 16;10(8):e29621.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29621. eCollection 2024 Apr 30.

Salt production and iodization practices among artisanal salt producers in selected districts within the Greater Accra and Central Regions of Ghana

Benjamin Osei Tutu  1 , Bella Rosaling Nkansah  1 , Nana Akua Serwaa Yeboah  1 , Faustina Atupra  1 , Roderick Kwabena Daddey-Adjei  2 , Delese A A Darko  2
Affiliations

Salt production and iodization practices among artisanal salt producers in selected districts within the Greater Accra and Central Regions of Ghana

Benjamin Osei Tutu et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: This study was conducted to assess salt production and iodization practices by artisanal salt producers located at six districts across Greater Accra and Central regions.

Methods: One Hundred and Sixty-Six (166) salt miners in Greater Accra and Central Regions were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and their production sites inspected for salt iodization practices.

Results: The study revealed that salt iodization is not practiced among majority (69.28 %) of artisanal salt producers. They were conversant with salt iodization (93.98 %) and had fair knowledge on the health effects on consumers when iodine is absent in salt. Some of the producers attributed the nonadherence to the mandatory salt iodization to the unavailability of potassium iodate/iodide on the market. All artisanal salt producers interviewed utilise the solar evaporation method for salt production. The evaporation is done on tarpaulin/polyethylene lined pans and concrete pans. The tarpaulin/polyethylene lined pans were predominantly used in Greater Accra, and concrete pans in Central region.

Conclusion: For Ghana to increase availability of iodized salt on the market and improve household consumption of iodized salt, regulatory authorities need to enforce the laws and regulations on salt iodization and also create the enabling environment for artisanal salt producer to have access to potassium iodate for production.

Keywords: Artisanal; Ghana; Iodization; Knowledge; Salt.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of Ghana showing selected salt producing sites in Greater Accra and Central regions, with sampling sites marked by red circles (Source: Atta-Quayson, 2018). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Respondents' awareness of salt iodization, and knowledge on ID.
Fig. 3a
Fig. 3a
Tarpaulin lined crystallization pans in Ada West district, i.e., Songhor site, Dec 2022.
Fig. 3b
Fig. 3b
Concrete crystallization pans in KEEA, i.e., Elmina site, Dec 2022.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Salt iodization practices amongst artisanal salt producers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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