Published 23 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4369
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4369

News

UK food agency reaffirms its advice that addition of folic acid to flour should be compulsory

Ann McGauran

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

As a result of a review of new evidence on potential cancer risks, the Food Standards Agency in the UK has restated its position that adding folic acid to flour should be mandatory.

The agency said that an expert working group, which included members of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), had reviewed two studies on folic acid and the risk of colorectal cancer. The group also considered the confidential combined results of trials that had investigated the effect of B vitamins, including folic acid, on cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The working group, which also included members of the independent Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment and an external cancer expert, concluded that the new evidence does not provide a substantial basis for changing its previous recommendation in 2006 of mandatory fortification of bread flour, with controls on voluntary fortification.

However, the group . . . [Full text of this article]


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