Ensure access to non-whole meal flour without folic acid fortification

We call on the Government to amend the law to ensure there are at least one non-wholemeal flour option without folic acid fortification, and to exempt organic flour from mandatory folic acid fortification requirement from December 2026.

We believe this protects consumer choice and people who might need to avoid synthetic folic acid for health reasons.

Mandatory folic acid fortification affects the whole population, despite only a small proportion being at risk of issues due to a lack of folate, such as neural tube defects (NTDs) in unborn babies. NTDs only affect pregnancies, yet the entire population will be impacted. Some data suggests that NTDs can also stem from other causes, which folic acid cannot prevent. People should still have access to non-fortified and organic flour.

The UK Government is mandating the fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid with the primary objective of increasing folic acid intake among women of childbearing age, thereby improving blood folate levels and reducing the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) during pregnancy. The policy is projected to prevent around 200 NTD-affected pregnancies annually—approximately 20 per cent of UK cases. The population-level policy will have the wider benefit of increasing the intake of folic acid and improving folate status across the whole population. Folate, including folic acid, plays an important role in forming healthy red blood cells and maintaining brain health.

Previous efforts through public health campaigns to promote supplementation, as well as voluntary fortification by manufacturers, have had limited success. Despite longstanding UK public health advice recommending a daily supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid before conception and during early pregnancy, uptake remains suboptimal, particularly among younger women and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Since almost half of pregnancies in the UK are unplanned, many women may not take supplements during the critical early weeks of gestation.

The policy has been carefully designed to be proportionate, targeting non-wholemeal wheat flour because it is widely consumed across the population and is the most effective vehicle for delivering the intended public health benefits. This approach is consistent with long-standing UK fortification requirements for wheat flour, including the mandatory addition of calcium, iron, niacin and thiamine, which also apply to non-wholemeal wheat flour produced to organic standards. Not fortifying wider than the type of flour that is presently fortified, means that individuals can avoid fortified flour if they choose to or need to. This includes wholemeal flour, gluten-free products and other flour types such as soya or spelt flour.