Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) was asked by the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council to consider developing a food standard for the mandatory fortification of food with folic acid in order to reduce the number of babies born each year with birth defects. Each year, 300 to 350 pregnancies in Australia and around 70 in New Zealand are affected by neural tube defects. Women who are deficient in folic acid have been shown to have a higher risk of having a child with these defects. The regulator referred to 'overseas projects', such as those in the US, Canada and Chile, where mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid has been linked to a clear drop in the number of babies born with defects since the fortification started. While there has been some resistance to fortifying commonly consumed foods with the vitamin in Europe, studies show that recommending that pregnant women take supplements does not have much effect on reducing the incidence. Nearly half of all pregnancies are unplanned. FSANZ said that bread-making flour has been recommended as bread is a common food that is consumed regularly by most women of child bearing age. But the Australian Food and Grocery Council says that while it supports measures to reduce birth defects, the mandatory addition of folate should be spread across more foods, including milk and yoghurt. Council chief executive Dick Wells said industry data showed women eat on average only 11 slices of bread a week, meaning the mandatory level would give them only one day's folate requirement per week. This will drastically reduce the effectiveness of the proposed intervention, while forcing the rest of the population to consume added folate. FSANZ claims however that "the proposed standard balances the need for women of child bearing age to get sufficient folic acid, while ensuring that some segments of the population, such as small children, do not get too much," said the FSANZ release. Comments on the proposal must be submitted before 31 July 2006.
