Folic Acid

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Manzoor]

Of course the Government are taking responsibility, and I have just said that we are having this consultation. When I say it is not a straightforward matter, I mean in relation to the impact assessment. I agree that a number of countries—I think around 40—are putting folic acid on a mandatory basis. However, the noble Lord will appreciate that SACN and COT have issued guidelines that we will need to take into consideration in the consultation, and the Secretary of State has assured me today that we will make a decision as soon as possible.

[Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Con)]

Can the noble Baroness include in the consultation a clear examination of the 11 different additives in standard white flour? Britain has a huge variety of flours and wonderful breads but, on the other hand, we retain those additives. The Netherlands is the next down on the EU list and includes only six additives, while France has only two. Do we honestly need all these additives?

[Baroness Manzoor]

My noble friend highlights our problem and it is therefore important to have the impact assessment. At the moment, additives are only put into white flour, as things are removed through the milling process. Therefore, with folic acid increasingly put into breakfast cereals and a large quantity of other products, we need to look at the upper tolerance level before decisions can be made on moving forward.