Most bread will be fortified with synthetic folate from today in a bid to reduce birth defects in babies.
Australians still have a choice, with Organic Flour exempt from mandatory fortification
Folic acid has been proven to reduce the risk of neural-tube defects such as spina bifida in unborn children.
It is already added to food products such as cereal and fruit juice. But Australia is going it alone in deciding to mandate the fortification of bread-making flour with synthetic folate after New Zealand delayed the move last month.
The New Zealand Government announced it would defer the mandatory addition of folic acid to bread until 2012. Its Food Safety Minister, Kate Wilkinson, said it would focus on introducing a voluntary program for bakers to include it if they want.
"I agree . . . that folic acid is beneficial to the health of women and can prevent neural-tube defects, but I also understand consumers . . . want to be able to choose whether or not the bread they buy is fortified," she said last month.
The full article can be found on The Age Lifestyle website
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