Thursday, 8 July 2021, 3:32 pm
The New Zealand College of
Public Health Medicine welcomes today’s announcement
that the addition of the B vitamin, folic acid, to
non-organic bread-making wheat flour has been approved. This
is an important opportunity to address a preventable health
risk”, says Dr Miller.
In New Zealand, diets usually
contain low levels of folic acid. Supplementation of folic
acid intake during the early stages of pregnancy is
important to reduce the risks of neural tube defects in the
developing baby. These neural tube defects can lead to
miscarriages, stillbirths or to serious birth defects, such
as spina bifida and anencephaly.