Posted by kathryn in Health News and Folate

A decision was made last week by the Food Regulation Ministerial Council, that wheat flour used in bread-making would be fortified with folic acid.

Until now, the fortification of foods with folic acid has been voluntary, here in Australia. Manufacturers have been able to choose to put folic acid in their foods and then include a health claim on the packaging.

Over the next two years however, a mandatory code is being phased in. This will require all wheat flour used in bread-making, to have between 200 and 300mcg of folic acid added per 100g of flour.

It’s estimated that mandatory fortification would provide pregnant women with half the dose of folic acid required to avoid neural tube defects (NTDs). This could prevent between 14 and 49 NTDs per year, ie between 4% and 13%.

From the ABC News report:

Child health expert Professor Fiona Stanley says the decision will particularly benefit the babies of disadvantaged women.

Australian research has found about 70 per cent of pregnant women are not taking enough folic acid, and Professor Stanley says this leaves their babies at risk of birth defects such as spina bifida.

“Women who are having unplanned pregnancies, very young women, Aboriginal women, women who have a poor education were not taking notice of the advice to eat folate before getting pregnant,” she said. “It was devastating, they didn’t really have the opportunity to reduce the risk of having a spina bifida baby.”

There is one exception to the mandatory fortification – breads that are made using organic flour, do not have to include folic acid .

Further information

• For when and why folate is important in pregnancy take a look at this post.
• To find out how much folate you’re already having, use Choice’s online folate counter.

26 June, 2007