Fortification
17 May 2007
ACFM statement following FSA Board meeting on folic acid fortification
The Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers (ACFM) welcomes the recognition of the importance of fortifying staple foods with folic acid in order to reduce the number of neural tube defect pregnancies in the UK.
The UK cereal industry has been fortifying ready to eat breakfast cereals at the request of the government1 and the Spina Bifida Society since the early 1990's and we welcome the FSA's decision to continue to allow voluntary fortification of ready to eat breakfast cereals. Controlled fortification, in a responsible manner, of these foods contributes a significant proportion of vitamins and minerals in the UK diet (most recent UK NDNS data shows that breakfast cereals contribute 12% of dietary folate intakes in men and 13% in women).
Folate levels are marginal in female non-consumers of breakfast cereals, which demonstrates the need to retain fortification of staple foods such as cereals, as they are a particularly suitable vehicle for delivering folic acid to a target population that can really benefit from increased intakes2. Furthermore, the FSA Board's consultation paper highlights that fortification of foods with folic acid such as breakfast cereals currently reduces neural tube defect-affected pregnancies by 10%.
The ACFM will work closely with government and its advisory bodies in developing an industry code of conduct for voluntary fortification, based on scientific and consumer evidence.
For further information contact the BCIS Team on:
Tel: 020 7815 3900
Email: info@breakfastcereal.org
References
1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries (MAFF, now Defra) requested the cereal industry fortify breakfast cereals in the early 1990s
2.
The Department of Health recommends women to increase folic acid consumption in the months before conception and in early pregnancy to reduce the risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect. One way the Department suggests women can do this is by eating foods fortified with folic acid such as some breakfast cereals (Department of Health press release, 18 Nov 1998 - 'Folic Acid Campaign Wins Awards')
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