A moment checking the packet tells you whether your bread is doing the job it was given in 2009. If it comes without one, ask. Bread from a bakery counter still has to be made with iodised salt unless it is organic, and staff can check the ingredients for you.
What to look for
Look at the ingredient list for iodised salt. Not salt, iodised salt. It sits in the list in the usual order by weight, like everything else, and reading ingredient lists works the same way here.
The exemptions
Organic bread is exempt from the fortification requirement. So is any bread you make at home from a bread mix.
Which means the more carefully chosen loaf can be the one without the added iodine. For anything else, including smaller bakeries and market stalls, the ingredient list will tell you, since it has to say iodised salt if it is in there.
If it is not in yours
This is not a reason to change your bread. It is a reason to know, because if bread was your main source and yours is not iodised, you need it from somewhere else. Seafood, dairy, eggs and iodised salt at home are the options.
A note on raw seaweed and kelp supplements
The NHMRC advises against them. The iodine content varies enormously between species, harvests and batches, and some carry very large amounts, which matters because too much iodine harms the thyroid as well.
If the amount is not on the label, you have no way of knowing what you are getting.
The takeaway: Check your bread for iodised salt. Organic loaves and home bread mixes are exempt. If yours is not iodised and bread was your main source, get it from seafood, dairy, eggs or iodised salt instead. Avoid raw seaweed and kelp supplements where the iodine content is not stated.
The science behind this post:
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Standard 2.1.1 Cereal and cereal products: requirement for iodised salt in bread, with exemptions for organic bread and bread mixes for home baking. foodstandards.gov.au
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Iodine supplementation public statement. Advises against kelp and seaweed supplements because iodine content varies and they may be contaminated with heavy metals. nhmrc.gov.au