Update (2025): maximum levels proposed for iodine in foods, including food supplements
Update and supplement to the opinion No. 006/2024 of the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment of 22 February 2024
What it's about:
Iodine is a vital trace element that the body cannot produce by itself and must therefore be regularly taken up with food. It is essential for the production of thyroid hormones, which play a central role in regulating metabolism and are necessary for processes such as normal growth, bone formation and the development of the nervous system.
According to representative data from the Robert Koch Institute, iodine intake is below the estimated average requirement in about one-third of adults and just under 45 percent of children and adolescents in Germany. To improve supply, voluntary fortification of salt with iodine is recommended in Germany. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) does not currently recommend the enrichment of other food for general consumption with iodine.
However, food products that are marketed/consumed as substitutes for milk and dairy produce could be exempted from the current practice (of only enriching salt) and enriched directly with iodine in the future. In these cases, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment considers a maximum amount of 14 µgshort formicrogram per 100 g or 100 mlshort formillilitre (corresponding to the median natural iodine concentration in milk and dairy products) to be appropriate and harmless to health in order to compensate for insufficient iodine intake due to (partial) avoidance of conventional milk and dairy produce.
For food supplements, a maximum amount of 100 µgshort formicrogram iodine per recommended daily intake of a product is recommended for all age groups from 15 years of age. As pregnant and breastfeeding women have an increased iodine requirement, a maximum value of 150 µgshort formicrogram iodine per recommended daily intake of a food supplement is proposed for these groups.
The accompanying main opinion "Updated maximum intake recommendations for vitamins and minerals in food supplements and enriched food" can be found here: External Link:https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/343/aktualisierte-hoechstmengenvorschlaege-fuer-vitamine-und-mineral-in-nahrungsergaenzungsmitteln-und-enriched-food-2024.pdf (german version)
1 Result
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) recommends a maximum amount of 100 micrograms (µgshort formicrogram) of iodine per recommended daily intake of a food supplement. In view of the increased iodine requirements of pregnant and breastfeeding women, a maximum value of 150 µgshort formicrogram iodine per recommended daily intake of a dietary supplement is proposed for these groups.
As part of iodine prophylaxis, iodine fortification of salt is recommended in Germany (currently legally permitted maximum content: 25 mgshort formilligram iodine per kgshort forkilogram of salt). This leaves no room for further iodine fortification of other food for general consumption. It is therefore not recommended (Table 1).
Since milk and dairy produce are one of the main sources of iodine, food products consumed as substitutes for milk and dairy produce could be exempted from the current practice and fortified directly with iodine. In these cases, iodine fortification should correspond to the median natural iodine concentration in milk and dairy products as a whole (Table 1).
Table 1: Proposed maximum levels
| Food category | Maximum levels |
| Food supplement (per recommended daily intake of a product)* | 100 µg |
| Food supplement for pregnant and breastfeeding woman (per recommended daily intake of a product) | 150 µg |
| Salt (per 100 g) | 2500 µg** |
| Food products marketed as substitutes for milk and dairy products (per 100 g or 100 ml) | 14 µg |
| Other food for general consumption | No addition |
* The maximum levels proposed for food supplements refer to adolescents aged 15 years and above and adults.
** Model calculations by the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment have shown that even an increase in the current maximum level for iodine in salt from 25 to 30 mgshort formilligram per kgshort forkilogram is harmless to health for both adults and children at the current level of iodised salt use in industrially and artisanally produced food (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, 2021 and 2022).