( which introduced mandatory fortificati...)UK too Will Insist on Folic Acid in Bread,Health

which introduced mandatory fortification have seen defect rates decline by up.

The evidence has prompted the FSA board to agree to the measure after rejecting it five years ago.

But critics argue that fortifying bread amounts to "mass medication", denies consumers choice and creates health problems because folic acid makes it difficult to identify vitamin B12 deficiency in older people, a condition that can damage the nervous system.

It was largely because of concerns about B12 deficiency that the FSA board rejected the idea of fortification five years ago. There are also fears that fortification could cause difficulties for bakers and raise the price of bread.

To minimise health risks, the FSA said it would introduce controls on the voluntary fortification of foods such as breakfast cereals, and guidance on folic acid supplements. It would also exclude wholemeal flour and bread from the programme to leave people with a choice.

Dame Deirdre Hutton, the chairman of the FSA's board, said that fortification would have health benefits for the population.

The FSA's decision was widely welcomed by health charities, including the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, which said about 85 per cent of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects ended in abortion.

Andrew Russell, its chief executive, said: "We look to health ministers to speedily implement this life-saving measure."

But a critic wanted to know, Has any investigation been made into the effects of folic acid on the correct working of other medications? The Pfizer medicines compendium states that folic acid may decrease phenytoin serum levels. These levels are important for those people who use the anti convulsant drug Epanutin to control their epilepsy.

And there was this comment on the internet: I am a 67 year old man so my chances of having a baby with birth defects are remote, why should I have this
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