All non-organic wheat flour for bread-making must be fortified with B-vitamin folic acid to protect babies from severe congenital defects.
"Folic acid fortification will save lives in New Zealand," said New Zealand Food Safety deputy-director General Vincent Arbuckle.
"Folic acid is proven to reduce the prevalence of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs), which can be life-threatening for babies, or cause life-long disabilities."
Arbuckle continued that because Māori and Pasifika babies have higher rates of NTDs, fortifying bread will particularly benefit these communities.
NTDs are a group of congenital defects in which the brain and spinal cord have not developed properly. NTDs can be life-threatening for unborn babies during pregnancy, and people with an NTD can have severe disabilities.
Folate is an essential B vitamin needed for healthy growth and development, particularly for the healthy development of babies during early pregnancy. Folic acid is a synthetic version of folate.
"More than 80 countries, including Australia, the United States, and Canada, have safely introduced mandatory folic acid fortification with excellent results."
Manatū Hauroa (The Ministry of Health) advised that folic acid tablets should be taken from four weeks before conception and for 12 weeks after to reduce the risk of NTDs. Fortifying bread with folic acid is an effective way of reducing NTDs and can benefit people who have unplanned pregnancies.
Bakers in New Zealand have been fortifying bread with folic acid under a voluntary scheme for approximately ten years. About 40 percent of the packaged bread in supermarkets is already fortified. However, Arbuckle said that moving to mandatory fortification will result in more significant public health benefits.
In Australia and other countries, there has been a success in reducing NTDs following the mandatory folic acid fortification of bread-making flour. Australia introduced this requirement in 2009, and NTD rates fell 14 percent in the general population, 55 percent in teenage pregnancies, and 74 percent in indigenous populations.
Organic bread, bread, or flour made from other grains, and wheat flour not explicitly intended for bread-making (such as for biscuits, cakes, pastry, and pizzas) does not need to be fortified, providing a choice for consumers who don't want to consume folic acid.
