November 14, 2024

expert reaction to govt announcement that non-wholemeal wheat flour must be fortified with folic acid from the end of 2026

Scientists comment on a government announcement that wheat flour must be fortified with folic acid from the end of 2026. 

Prof Sir Nicholas Wald FRS FMedSci, Professor of Preventive Medicine at University College London, and who conducted the study that showed that folic acid deficiency was a leading cause of neural tube defects, said:

“The decision by the UK Government to fortify non-wholemeal wheat flour to prevent an estimated 200 cases of anencephaly and spina bifida every year is good news. However, more could be done to prevent an estimated 800 cases instead of 200 if all flour and rice were fortified (unless labelled as unfortified) and the level of fortification mandated by the Government were increased.”

Dr Jonathan Sher, Former Deputy Director of Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland, said:

“Fortifying bread and other grains has long been needed in the UK. However, the UK Government’s proposed path forward is timid, unscientific and will predictably fail to prevent most of the harm currently caused by Neural Tube Defects. Much too large a number of miscarriages, stillbirths, therapeutic terminations, birth defects and other preventable problems will continue to happen by avoiding Fully Effective Fortification. It is politically stunning that the Labour Government proclaims CHANGE as its mantra, but then simply puts forward the Tories’ old, inadequate fortification proposal.”

Prof Neena Modi, Professor of Neonatal Medicine, Imperial College London, said:

“The news that fortification of flour with folic acid is to be implemented at long last is welcome. Folic acid (vitamin B9) supplementation was shown to reduce neural tube defects by about 80% in a landmark UK randomised trial funded by the Medical Research Council and published in the Lancet in 1991.

“However, this news is tempered by the decision to restrict fortification to non-wholemeal flour only as this will disadvantage groups such as women who are sensitive to gluten, eat rice in preference to bread, and products made from wholemeal flour, excluding them and their babies from benefiting, and thus add to the considerable health inequities that already exist in the UK.”

Previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink: https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-the-case-for-fully-effective-folic-acid-fortification-for-the-prevention-of-neural-tube-defects/