Folic Acid
(asked on 18th June 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the evidence base for mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid; what consideration has been given to potential risks associated with long term population-wide exposure; and if he will publish a full risk-benefit analysis for this policy.
Government laid legislation in England on 14 November 2024 to introduce the mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid. The policy is estimated to prevent approximately 200 babies being born with neural tube defects each year. Legislation will come into force in December 2026. An assessment of the impact of the policy was published alongside the legislation, and is available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/1162/pdfs/uksiod_20241162_en_001.pdf
This public health policy has a long history and was recommended in 2006 by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, which advises the four United Kingdom governments on nutrition-related matters, after an extensive review of the evidence on folate and health. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-folate-and-disease-prevention-report
Since then, there have been several further evidence reviews and modelling work to establish the level of folic acid added to flour as well as addressing concerns about potential adverse effects.
The policy was subject to extensive consultation. The evidence supporting the policies was included in the 2019 Department of Health and Social Care and devolved governments consultation on the proposal to add folic acid to flour and in a consultation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the devolved governments on the Bread and Flour review in 2022. The two consultations are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/food-compositional-standards/bread-and-flour-consultation-2022/
The Government is exploring how to evaluate the impact of the policy.