Folic acid in flour will cut birth defects

If flour were fortified with folic acid, then 2,000 cases of serious birth defects could have been prevented since 1998, according to a recent study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

A lack of folic acid during pregnancy can cause neural tube defects (NTDs) in children, which involve defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord. Recent research shows that only 28 percent of women take folic acid supplements before pregnancy to reduce the risk to their baby.

The US, along with 77 other countries, have policies in place which mean that folic acid must be added to flour for bread. The Department of Health is currently considering the matter in the UK. 

The US has seen a 23 percent drop in pregnancies with NTDs since it introduced the policy in 1998. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has advised the UK to make the same move.