Evaluación de la fluoración en la sal de mesa de las distintas marcas comerciales expendidas en los supermercados del cantón Cuenca Ecuador

Abstract

Food grade salt is defined as the crystalline product obtained from sea water, underground deposits of mineral salt or natural brine. It is presented as white, odorless, water soluble crystals and, for human consumption, it must meet certain quality parameters. In Ecuador, as in other Latin American countries, salt must be the product of a fortification process with iodine and fluoride. In particular, fluoridation of salt has been a successful public health preventive method in several countries around the world for providing protection against dental caries to the population. The objective of this work was to evaluate the concentration of fluoride in salt in different commercial brands sold in supermarkets in Cuenca, Ecuador. Also, variations in concentration among brands and study batches were evaluated. The quantification of the fluoride concentration in the analyzed samples was carried out by the specific ion method and adjusted for the moisture content. 5 brands of salt were studied and a total of 180 bags of salt with 1kg presentation was sampled. From brand 1, 60 samples were collected, while for brands 2,3,4,5, 30 units of each were collected, the fluorine analysis was performed in duplicate and the result was adjusted in dry weight for statistical analysis. The INEN-57: 2010 regulation establishes that the permissible range of fluoride in table salt is 200-250 ppm. Of a total of 180 samples analyzed, 72% of these presented a value lower than 200 ppm, 10% a value higher than 250 ppm and only 18% of the samples were within the allowed range. In addition, of the 5 brands analyzed, only one was within the fluoride content limit, two brands had a lower value than that established by the Ecuadorian standard, and the other two brands did not contain this microelement. Finally, statistically significant differences were determined among brands and among all batches with a value of p <0.001. In conclusion, through this study it was observed that in Cuenca - Ecuador, there are different commercial brands of salt that do not comply with the fluoride content established by Ecuadorian regulations. Non-compliance with this parameter could be an important negative factor in the context of dental caries prevention. Furthermore, a significant variation of this parameter was observed, between brands and between all study lots. It is important that future work studies all the physical, chemical and microbiological parameters established by the standard, as well as increasing the study population, the number of brands and the study region.