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Oral answer to question provided on Monday, 21 March 2016 in the House of Lords, by Lord Prior of Brampton (Conservative).

Health: Neural Tube Defects

Answer

Fortifying bread with folic acid is not a silver bullet that would cure all babies with neural tube defects. The estimate is that it would have an impact on between 15% and 30% of babies. Some 965 babies suffer from neural tube defects a year, so we are talking about fortifying flour for the whole population in order to reach about 120 babies.

This is an answer to the Oral question asked on Monday, 21 March 2016 by Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat).

Question

My Lords, given that the Minister accepts the link between a lack of folic acid in the diet and neural tube defects, why will he not look again at the advice from, for example, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Food Standards Agency and the BMA that we should be putting folic acid into food products, as is done in many other countries, including the United States of America?

Secondary information

Type
Oral answer to question
Reference
769 c2060 
Session
2015-16
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Additives Congenital abnormalities Pregnancy Flour Folic acid
Link
View this Oral answer to question on www.publications.parliament.uk