Health departments across
England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are being asked for their views
on adding folic acid to flour which could prevent up to 200 birth defects a
year.
Public Health Minister,
Seema Kennedy has launched a 12-week consultation to explore adding folic acid
to flour as well as other products. More than 60 countries worldwide, including
Australia, Canada, and the US add folic acid to flour. In Australia, neural tube
defects fell by 14% after it became a legal requirement for folic acid to be
added to bread flour.
Folic acid (vitamin B9)
is essential to the development of babies during early pregnancy, however some
women are not consuming enough which can lead to neural tube defects. Around
1,000 pregnancies in the UK are diagnosed with neural tube defects every year
in the UK.
Commenting on the
consultation, Professional Policy Advisor at the Royal College of Midwives
(RCM), Clare Livingstone, said: “The RCM is delighted that the Government have
now launched this consultation. We have been calling for this for some time now
and will be responding to the consultation.
“Introducing the
mandatory fortification of flour will bring the UK in line with other countries
including the United States and Canada. They have this in place because the
evidence about the benefits is very strong. In those countries, the impact has
been a marked reduction in incidences of fetal abnormality.”