New Zealand requires folic acid fortification for flour

Beginning in mid-August, the government of New Zealand will require all non-organic bread-making wheat flour, produced or sold in New Zealand, to be fortified with folic acid, a B vitamin essential for the healthy development of babies early in pregnancy.

“Introducing mandatory fortification to non-organic bread-making flour, will ensure that people of child-bearing age are well-supported to increase their folic acid consumption, as bread is a staple food eaten by most of the population,” said Dr. Harriette Carr, deputy director of public health.

This change, which was first announced by the government on July 8, 2021, will align New Zealand with the public health approach to flour fortification in Australia, Canada and the United States.

Fortifying flour has been shown to be an important step in increasing equitable rates of healthy births. After fortification became mandatory in Australia, neural tube defects fell by 14% overall and by 74% in Indigenous women.

“Folate is naturally present in many foods,” Carr said. “Folic acid fortification restores what is lost during processing such as flour milling. It is an internationally well-accepted and safe approach to supporting the development of babies during pregnancy.”

In 2014, the New Zealand Association of Bakers agreed to fortify 25% to 50% of bread with folic acid through a Code of Practice. The Code of Practice for Voluntary Folic Acid Fortification of Bread will no longer be valid once fortification of folic acid becomes mandatory.

By mid-August, flour millers must comply with Standard 2.1.1 – 5 (a) Cereal and Cereal Products of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, which outlines that non-organic wheat flour that is sold as suitable for making bread must contain no less than 2 mg/kg, and no more than 3 mg/kg, of folic acid.

Tags: New Zealand, flour