Now the main sources of iodine are iodate minerals, natural brine deposits left by the evaporation of ancient seas and brackish (briny) waters from oil and salt wells. Iodine is obtained commercially by releasing iodine from the iodate obtained from nitrate ores or extracting iodine vapour from the processed brine.

Is iodine natural or manmade?

It is a bluish-black, lustrous nonmetallic solid element that mainly occurs in nature under its stable form, iodine-127. Stable iodine is naturally present for instance in seaweeds, sponges, and shell fish. It is also artificially added to salt.

Where does iodine naturally come from?

Sea vegetables and animals — particularly seaweeds (wakame and kelp), scallops, shrimp and cod — have the highest concentrations of iodine, but iodine also comes from land-based food sources, such as plants that grow in iodine-rich soil or from dairy products and eggs as long as the cows and chickens had enough iodine ...