[yipopov]

That would make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Adding a small bag of sodium iodate to a big bag of sodium chloride and mixing requires no skill or special equipment and any idiot, or shall I say cretin, can do it. Whereas running a bioreactor and somehow convince people of eating the gunk that comes out of it is far more complicated and expensive.

Edit: and you'd still have to add iodine to said bioreactor, you might as well add it directly to the salt.