On 20 December, new legislation was introduced that will help prevent around 200 cases of debilitating brain and spine defects in babies each year in the UK by fortifying non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid.
The legislation requires millers and flour producers in the UK to fortify non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid by the end of 2026.
Folic acid deficiency is a leading cause of neural tube defects in babies, including spina bifida. Increasing a woman’s intake of folic acid can help prevent these serious and debilitating conditions.
Flour is already fortified with calcium, niacin, thiamin and iron to improve public health. The move to include folic acid could help to reduce neural tube defects by 20% in the UK and improve the health of pregnant women.
This work forms part of a wider Defra led review of the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 conducted under the Food Compositional Standards and Labelling (FCSL) UK Common Framework, working collaboratively with the devolved Governments and Department of Health and Social Care.
It included a UK-wide public consultation with the proposals also notified to the World Trade Organisation, fulfilling international obligations.
The key changes include:
- Technical amendments to clarify requirements and definitions, to ensure consistency with other food standards legislation including increasing minimum levels of nutrients and updating specification criteria, enabling understanding and compliance.
- Update to the compositional rules of wholemeal flour, removing barriers to compliance while maintaining consumer protection.
- An exemption from fortification requirements for small-scale millers (producing less than 500 metric tonnes of flour per annum). This removes disproportionate burden on smaller scale producers without compromising the public health outcomes of the policy.
- Introducing the use of improvement notices in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is a more proportionate and efficient way to address non-compliance and reduces risk of excessive costs associated with court time when criminal proceedings are brought. In Scotland equivalent measures in the form of compliance notices have already been introduced.
Food Standards Scotland and the Scottish Government will continue to engage with the food industry to support them to implement the changes, which will apply to the whole of the UK. Legislation has been laid in England and Northern Ireland, and Wales intend to lay similar legislation soon..
Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “Ministers have long advocated for the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid to help prevent foetal neural tube defects such as spina bifida – so I am glad to be able to introduce new legislation to help give babies the best start in life. It is also vital that women who are planning a pregnancy or are newly pregnant continue to take a folic acid supplement.
“We have closely collaborated with Food Standards Scotland, the UK Government and other devolved Governments to introduce a measure which strengthens public health. We will continue to engage with the industry on implementation to ensure the best outcomes.”
Lawrence Cowan, Chief Executive of Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland said: “We welcome the announcement by the Scottish Government today that folic acid will be added to flour from 2026 onwards. Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland has campaigned for folic acid fortification for over 30 years, and this decision will have a life-changing effect for many future parents and children across Scotland.
“Adding folic acid to flour will give women and their unborn children the best possible opportunities to be healthy. Folic acid fortification has proven effective in other countries, and in the UK this measure could prevent around 200 pregnancies affected by neural tube defects. It is important that we keep to the proposed timeline for introducing this legislation to ensure that we can have the broadest impact on families in Scotland.
“This is a momentous moment, and we will continue to work in partnership with the Scottish Government, Food Standards Scotland and other relevant bodies.”
It is estimated that half of all pregnancies in the UK are unplanned. The new flour regulations will help provide women with a higher baseline intake of folic acid, before and during pregnancy.
However, it is important to note that the NHS still recommends women who are trying to get pregnant or newly pregnant to continue to regularly take the recommended dose of folic acid supplements.
All women who are trying for a baby should regularly take folic acid supplements for around three months before getting pregnant, and for at least 12 weeks after becoming pregnant. These are readily available through pharmacies or supermarkets. The fortification of flour is intended to support, not replace, this advice.
