Scotland and Wales in folic acid flour plea to Health Secretary Hunt

THE SCOTTISH and Welsh governments are urging Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to make it compulsory for flour to contain folic acid.

Senior figures in the two devolved administrations have written jointly to the UK Government on the issue after figures showed roughly four out of five women of childbearing age in Scotland and Wales do not have enough of the key nutrient in their diet.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has already said there is clear evidence that fortification flour could help prevent birth defects such as spina bifida and other neural tube defects (NTDs) in unborn babies.

In Scotland, 158 babies were born between 2007 and 2011 who were suffering from such conditions while 131 pregnancies were terminated after these were detected over the same period.

Scottish public health minister Aileen Campbell had asked FSS to look at if the mandatory fortification of bread or flour with folic acid could be done on a Scotlandonly basis.

However, it found that for cost and practical reasons this would not be appropriate, and instead recommended it be introduced across the whole of the UK. Ms Campbell and Welsh Health Secretary Vaughan Gething told the UK Secretary 81 per cent of women in Scotland of childbearing age and 79 per cent of such females in Wales were not getting the recommended amount of folic acid – higher than the 75 per cent recorded across across the UK.

The two politicians said: “We are therefore clear that there remains a compelling case for action across the UK to reduce NTD incidence, particularly in the most socio-economically deprived areas.” for women