Urging the UK to follow more than 80 other countries, including the
United States, who have mandatory fortification, the scientists said
there was no need for an upper limit on folate intake because there
is no risk of harmful overdose.
Deficiency in folate, by contrast, can cause pregnant women to have
babies with serious birth defects called anencephaly and spina
bifida. Also known as neural tube defects, the conditions affect 1
in 500-1,000 pregnancies in Britain.
Folic acid is a synthetic form of the B vitamin folate, which is
found in asparagus, broccoli and dark leafy vegetables. Folic acid
can be taken as pills or added to staple foods such as flour and
cereals.
In countries that have introduced mandatory folic acid
fortification, neural tube defects in babies have fallen by as much
as 50 percent, according to experts from Queen Mary University of
London and the School of Advanced Study at University of London, who
published a study on the issue on Wednesday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the
cost of folic acid fortification at around 1.0 cent per person per
year.
"Failing to fortify flour with folic acid to prevent neural tube
defects is like having a polio vaccine and not using it," Nicholas
Wald of Queen Mary's Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine told a
briefing in London.
He said that on average every day in Britain, two women terminate
pregnancies because of neural tube defects, and every week two women
give birth to an affected child.
"It's a completely avoidable tragedy," said Joan Morris, who works
with Wald.
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She said that from 1998, when the US introduced mandatory folic acid
fortification, to 2017, an estimated 3,000 neural tube defects could
have been prevented if the UK had adopted the same level of
fortification.
In the UK, white flour is already fortified with iron, calcium and
the B vitamins niacin and thiamin. Yet despite recommendations from
experts, Britain has not introduced mandatory folic acid
fortification, partly due to concerns it might lead to some people
having too high a folate intake.
However Wednesday's new research, published in the journal Public
Health Reviews, found those concerns were unjustified.
"With the upper limit removed there is no scientific or medical
reason for delaying the introduction of mandatory folic acid
fortification," Wald said.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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