Grainnet

Canberra, Australia--Last Friday, the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council approved the mandatory fortification of wheat flour with folic acid, at the recommendation of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

The newly-approved standard will be included in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

The draft standard requires the mandatory addition of folic acid to wheat flour for bread-making within the prescribed range of 200-300 micrograms per 100 grams of flour.

This level of fortification is expected to prevent between 14 and 49 neural tube defects in the 300-350 affected pregnancies in Australia each year, when combined with existing voluntary fortification permissions and current levels of supplemental usage.

In New Zealand, this level of fortification is expected to prevent between 4-14 neural tube defects each year.

There is a transition period of two years for the new standard.

In adopting the new standard, the Ministerial Council has exempted wheat flour for bread-making represented as organic.

An extensive monitoring system is being finalized to determine the effects of mandatory folic acid fortification.

A comprehensive an independent review of mandatory fortification with folic acid will be initiated two years after implementation of the standard.

The review will consider health impacts and the effectiveness of the initiative, the actual cost impacts on the food industry, and the adequacy of the monitoring framework.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council
• Flour Fortification Initiative

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