Folic acid to be added to UK flour in effort to reduce birth defects

Folic acid to be added to UK flour in effort to reduce birth defects Exclusive: ministers finally overcome food industry objections on compulsory fortification

All flour is to be fortified with folic acid after ministers swung behind a plan that medical experts say will reduce the number of babies born in the UK with serious birth defects, the Guardian can reveal.

The policy, which will be introduced within weeks, comes after minister were convinced by their own advisers that it would reduce the risk of babies developing spina bifida and other conditions that involve severe disability or death. The Guardian