IODINE CONTENT OF PRESERVED SEA FOODS 



By Arthur W. Wells 

 Assistant Technologist, United States Bureau of Fisheries 



Contribution from the Fishery Products Laboratory, Washington, D. C. 



INTRODUCTION 



The amount of iodine necessary to prevent goiter is very small — 

 according to some statements ^ only about 1 part in 3,000,000 parts of 

 the body weight. It is important, however, that this amount be 

 maintained, and various investigators have shown that, in localities 

 where foods and drinking water do not contain sufficient iodine to 

 supply the proper amount to the body, goiter and other diseases of 

 the thyroid gland usually are prevalent. 



In a previous paper ^ by Donald K. Tressler and this author it was 

 shown that fish (especially marine fish and shellfish) contain larger 

 amounts of iodine than do most other foods. It is believed that if 

 people would use marine fish or shellfish in their diet two or three 

 times each week the amount of iodine ingested would be increased 

 considerably, with a consequent reduction in the number of persons 

 suffering from goiter and other thyroid disorders. This applies 

 especially to people living in the so-called goiterous beks. In this 

 connection McClendon and Hathaway * believe that the probable 

 cause of "the recession of goiter that has taken place in New York 

 State during recent times is due to the greater transportation facilities 

 for sea food into inland regions." 



Many of these goiterous belts are so located, however, that it is 

 difficult for the inhabitants to obtain marine fish in the fresh condi- 

 tion. Much of the marine fish which they consume has been pre- 

 served in some manner, such as canning, salting, or smoking. The 

 question naturally arises as to whether these preserved products 

 contain iodine in quantities comparable to those contained in fresh 

 fish, and analyses, the results of which are reported in this paper, were 

 made for the purpose of throwing light upon this question. 



Since fish meat is used as a stock and poultry food, it has been 

 suggested that its use, providing it were high in iodine, would be of 



1 Appendix VI to the Report of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for 1924. B. F. Doc. No. 979. 



2 The American Public Health Association. Science News. Science, new series, vol. LX, No. 1556, 

 Oct. 24, 1924, p. X. New York. 



' Iodine content of sea foods. Appendix I, Report of the U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1924, 12 pp. 

 B. F. Doc. No. 967. Washington. 



* Inverse relation between iodin in food and drink and goiter, simple and exophthalmic. By J. F. 

 McClendon and Joseph C. Hathaway. Journal, American Medical Association, vol. 82, No. 21, May 24, 

 1924, pp. 1668-1672. Chicago. 



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