The US dietary supplements industry yesterday launched an initiative to give folic acid another boost in the minds of consumers for its benefits for healthy infant development.
Fortifying bread with folic acid and low dose vitamin B12 is effective in improving vitamin B blood status in the elderly, according to a new study from Holland.
Researchers at the UK Institute of Food Research have warned that
fortifying flour with folic acid may lead to a range of health
problems, a finding that calls into question the Food
Standard Agency's approval of the move earlier...
Following debate by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) yesterday, the
baking industry has raised further concerns over recommendations
that folic acid be added to either flour or bread.
A UK food safety panel is recommending that the mandatory addition
of folic acid should be made at the milling stage rather than at
the manufacturing stage, shifting the cost burden to suppliers.
The UK's Food Standards Agency has launched a final consultation
into mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid - an action
that coincides with publication of the SACN recommendation to press
ahead with the measure.
When the idea of fortifying staple foods with vital nutrients is
raised, the battlecry goes up from industry groups and advocates of
consumer choice: "Why should we bear the costs?" "Educate, and
let people make their...
Despite the introduction of mandatory folic acid fortification of
grains as much as a third of women of childbearing age are not
getting the recommended amounts, says a study from Canada.
The debate over folic acid fortification of bread took a new turn
this week, thanks to a study from Sweden which suggests that low
folate levels may guard against colorectal cancer.
Ireland's National Committee on Folic Acid Fortication today
recommended that most white, brown and wholemeal breads sold in the
country be fortificed with 120 micrograms of folic acid per 100g of
bread in a bid to reduce incidence...
Adolescents, an often overlooked population, could also be reaping
the benefits of folic acid fortification of enriched grain products
with lower levels of a marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD), says
a new study.
The road to fortification of bakery products with folate in the UK
looks less clear as the FSA's Scientific Advisory requested more
time to review evidence on dosage, despite a positive preliminary
report last month.
The Food Standards Agency will tomorrow recommend mandatory folic
acid fortification of bread in the UK, in an effort to reduce the
incidence of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects (NTDs).
The majority of Malaysian women lack folate in their diets, raising
their risk of having children with birth defects, says an
independent study sponsored by dairy group Fonterra.
The UK appears close to introducing compulsory flour fortification
in an attempt to reduce neural tube defects, while a new report
lists France as having the lowest rates of birth defects, a
statistic that has been linked to the folate-rich...
The mandatory fortification of flour and grain products with folic
acid in the US appears to be bringing in results, according to the
largest study of B vitamin levels in the population carried out to
date.
Women planning to have a baby should increase their folate intake
if they want their child to reach optimal weight, finds new
research that links the vitamin for the first time to birth weight.
Fortifying milk with folic acid offers an accessible source of the
vitamin, report Dutch researchers who tested bioavailability of the
nutrient in a clinical trial.
The popularity of low carb diets makes the message of National
Folic Acid Awareness Week more significant than ever, as women of
childbearing age may be risking the health of their babies by
cutting back on sources of the B vitamin.
Breakfast cereals fortified with folic acid and other B vitamins
could help consumers protect against heart disease by lowering
levels of homocysteine, suggests new research. The amino acid
homocysteine is increasingly accepted as...
Evidence continues to mount suggesting a link between various
stages of depression and low blood levels of the B vitamin folate,
according to research funded by the Agricultural Research Service
in the US.
Bread fortified with a variety of vitamins and omega-3 DHA has been
launched by independent UK bakers Warburtons. The loaf is designed
to help increase DHA intake among pregnant women.
