Databases of Iodine Content of Foods and Dietary Supplements–Availability of New and Updated Resources

Abstract

The iodine status of the U.S. population is adequate overall, but some people might have insufficient or overly high iodine intakes and would benefit from certain dietary changes. Identifying these individuals can be challenging, however, due to a lack of data on the iodine content of foods and dietary supplements. To fill this gap, a new online database--the USDA, FDA, and ODS-NIH Database for the Iodine Content of Common Foods--was released in 2020. It contains about 430 foods and beverages, such as dairy products and eggs, baby foods, vegetables, meats, mixed dishes, juices, seafood, various types of salt, restaurant foods, and baked goods, including breads made with and without iodate-containing dough conditioners. Data are presented as mean iodine content for both standard serving sizes and per 100 g of food, along with standard deviations, value ranges, and sample sizes. The new database, combined with the existing Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database, which contains chemically analyzed values for the iodine content of dietary supplements, and the newly updated Dietary Supplement Label Database, which contains label information from thousands of dietary supplements on the market, provides comprehensive data to help assess the iodine intakes of individuals and populations.