19 Mar 2011
SOME supermarket outlets have run out of salt, while three of six chains have seen an increase in demand.
Reports of panic buying in China and Hong Kong might have got some people here stocking up, in the mistaken belief that eating salt or soaking vegetables in heavily salted water helps ward off the effects of potential radiation.
Experts said there is no such thing.
"Firstly, there is no risk of radioactive contamination here," said Dr Ng Kee Chong, head of emergency medicine at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
Secondly, the iodine concentration in edible salt is too low to have any effect.
China, one of Singapore's major suppliers, iodises its salt as part of a national policy to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.
Madam Sim Lian Tin, 50, owner of an iEcon minimart in Yishun, said one customer told her she would soak her vegetables in salt water to get rid of radiation.
But Dr Anthony Goh, head of Singapore General Hospital's department of nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography, said: "It is true that common salt does contain some iodine, but you cannot remove radioactive contamination from food; you just have to avoid it. You cannot wash it off or get rid of it with salt."
Yesterday, supermarket chains Sheng Siong, FairPrice and Prime said demand for salt had gone up, although Giant, Shop N Save and Cold Storage reported no change.
Retailers said some consumers may also be stocking up to guard against a possible shortage and higher prices.
Madam Sim said she sold about 100 packets of salt yesterday, 10 times more than usual.
"When I opened the shop in the morning, one customer asked if I had salt. She bought 22 packets," she said, adding that most of her customers were the elderly and housewives.
Mr Tng Ah Yiam, director of integrated purchasing at FairPrice, said there is ample supply and prices have remained stable.
The Sheng Siong spokesman said the chain is well-stocked too.
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Dept of Nuclear Medicine & PET
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