Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there are any adverse effects on humans and animals of ingesting folic acid; and if so, what they are.

The current Tolerable Upper Level (TUL) of intake for folic acid is based on the observation that folic acid can mask or delay the diagnosis of pernicious anaemia. At their meeting on 3 July 2018, the Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) reviewed the available human and animal data. An interim position detailing the COT’s arguments and recent discussions will be published shortly.