Folic acid levels in flour are too low to prevent birth abnormalities, say scientists

Leading researchers claim that increasing the amount of folic acid in all flour and rice will prevent the birth of hundreds of UK infants with permanent impairments.

They claim that any worries about potential risks are unfounded and that the proposed levels are too low to benefit some groups of women. The government claims that requiring fortification of a particular brand of white flour provides for some degree of choice.

According to the Food Standards Agency, there will still be significant public health advantages. Governments in the UK chose to pass new legislation last year requiring the food sector to add folic acid, generally known as vitamin B9, to non-wholemeal wheat flour. That implies that everyone who consumes white bread will consume more folic acid.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, the vitamin is especially crucial for a baby's healthy development of the brain, skull, and spinal cord. Before getting pregnant, it is recommended that women take a daily folate supplement, but many do not - typically the less fortunate - and nearly half of pregnancies are also unplanned. This implies that they run the chance of having children who have serious birth deformities known as neural tube defects, such spina bifida. In the UK, one in 1,000 pregnancies is affected by these diseases.