Iodine is important for thyroid function in human growth, development, and reproduction. It can be obtained by consuming seaweed, fish and other seafood, dairy, iodized salt, eggs, and dietary supplements. Iodine can vary in foods because of the amount in soil, amount in animals’ diets, and other reasons. Scientists who estimate iodine intake need data on the amount of iodine in foods. To provide iodine data in common foods to use for estimating intake, this database was developed by USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH. Historically, USDA analyzed iodine in selected nationwide food and dietary supplement samples. Many of the USDA samples in this database came from studies conducted in 2016 or later. FDA data in this database are from FDA’s Total Diet Study (TDS) from 2016 or later. The underlying TDS iodine data are available upon request from TDS@fda.hhs.gov. The USDA and FDA foods were analyzed for iodine using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Quality controls included standard reference materials (SRMs) and secondary in-house controls. This iodine database provides food descriptions along with means, standard deviations, value ranges, and sample sizes, with supporting documentation.
USDA, FDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Iodine Content of Common Foods Release 3.0 (2023)
Release 3.0 includes about 467 foods. Values are provided as "per serving" and "per 100 gram" amounts.
- USDA, FDA, and ODS-NIH Database Release 3.0 (Revision 1) Documentation: The file contains background, methods used, source of samples, database notes, and data discussion.
- USDA, FDA, ODS-NIH Iodine Database Release 3.0- These files contain the Iodine Database zipped and imported into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The zipped folder contains an excel file with iodine values per serving and another with per 100 gram values. The PDF version for values per serving is found here. The PDF version for values per 100 grams is found here.
USDA, FDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Iodine Content of Common Foods Release 2.0 (2022)
Release 2.0 includes about 425 foods. Values are provided as "per serving" and "per 100 gram" amounts.
- USDA, FDA, and ODS-NIH Database Release 2.0 Documentation: The file contains background, methods used, source of samples, database notes, and data discussion.
- USDA, FDA, ODS-NIH Iodine Database Release 2.0- These files contain the Iodine Database zipped and imported into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The zipped folder contains an excel file with iodine values per serving and another with per 100 gram values. The PDF version for values per serving is found here. The PDF version for values per 100 grams is found here.
USDA, FDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Iodine Content of Common Foods Release 1.0 (2020)
This initial release includes about 430 foods:
- USDA, FDA, and ODS-NIH Database Documentation: The file contains background, methods used, source of samples, database notes, and data discussion
- USDA, FDA, ODS-NIH Iodine Database Release 1.0- This file contains the Iodine Database imported into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. PDF version is found here.
