Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what exemptions, alternative supply arrangements, and clinical provisions are being put in place to ensure that completely unfortified staple foods remain available and accessible to cancer patients, cancer survivors, and other groups who may be advised to limit their intake of folic acid-fortified foods.

I refer the Hon. Members to the answer provided on 15 September in response to Question 27169 and to the answer provided on 17 July in response to Question 17728.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has not published additional assessments on the issues stated since 2017 but retains folic acid on its watching brief. Individuals with medical conditions or concerns about their folic acid intake should seek advice from a healthcare professional.

The Government will evaluate the impact of the policy in the normal way. Details of this evaluation were discussed at the SACN meeting in June 2026 and are provided in SACN’s matters arising and Government updates document provided on the SACN webpage:

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