China has ordered a crackdown on the hoarding of table salt, after widespread reports of panic buying by consumers who mistakenly believe that iodine contained in the salt can routinely protect against the effects of exposure to radiation.
China's official Xinhua news agency says the National Development and Reform Commission issued the directive in an urgent notice Thursday, as authorities monitor the Japanese nuclear crisis and try to combat rumors that have led to the panic buying and reports of spot shortages.
In its notice, the commission urged its citizens not to “believe or spread rumors.”
Xinhua says supermarkets in many Chinese cities have run out of salt, in a wave of panic buying that started Thursday in Zhejiang province and spread eastward to the cities of Beijing, Chongqing and five provinces.
Authorities were also reported trying to squelch rumors that radiation from Japan's stricken power plants had leaked into the sea and threatened the future safety of sea salt consumed in China.
Iodine, a key ingredient in much salt in China and many other countries, is touted as helping to protect the human thyroid and glandular system from radiation damage. However, experts say large amounts of normal table salt would need be ingested to have any impact. They also warn that the potential damage from such consumption — particularly in children — would likely be far worse than any radiation exposure experienced in Japan.