On June 15, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced its rules concerning fluoride labeling of packaged edible salt products, stipulating the permissible product names for packaged edible salt products containing added potassium fluoride or sodium fluoride as “fluoride salt,” “fluoridated salt” or “salt with added fluoride,” which will enable consumers to clearly recognize that these products contain fluoridated salt.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that there is a high prevalence of dental caries among children in Taiwan, with each child having an average of 2.5 decayed teeth, and this is higher than the world average. In order to reduce the incidence of tooth decay, the FDA announced that fluoridated salt would become available this month.

FDA senior specialist Tseng Su-hsiang said that only small one-kilogram packs of fluoridated salt have been approved for sale, and only for household use. Tseng said that if restaurant and cafe operators intentionally use it, they will be liable to pay fines of up to NT$3 million for violating the good hygiene practices (GHP) for food products.

Although approval has now been given for sales of fluoridated salt, up until now no company has applied for a permit from the FDA, so it may not be possible to buy fluoridated salt for a while.

Tseng reminded the public that if people who take fluoride tablets or have had fluoride varnish applied to their teeth still want to buy fluoridated salt, they should first seek the opinion of a dentist, so as to avoid taking too much fluoride, which could cause dental fluorosis. (Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)

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