At the end of September the UK Government announced that folic acid is to be added to UK flour in a bid to help prevent spinal birth defects including spina bifida in babies in a process called fortification. It is estimated that by adding folic acid to non-wholemeal wheat flour and products made with flour such as bread it will help prevent around 200 neural tube defects every year which is around 20% of the total number. Fortifying foods is nothing new in the UK, and since the Second World War flour has been fortified with calcium, iron, niacin, and
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