The Medical Women’s Federation is very pleased that the UK government have announced plans to fortify non-wholemeal flour with folic acid. This announcement comes after years of campaigning and research, including a public consultation in 2019 which MWF responded to by strongly supporting the policy.
Folic acid fortification has already been adopted in more than 80 countries around the world including the USA, Canada and Australia. It has proven to be an effective public health measure which reduces neural tube defects without having adverse effects on any section of the population. In Australia, neural defects fell by 14% when folic acid was added to bread.
MWF very much welcomes this new policy as it will improve the lives of many women and their children.
