The Government is consulting on how much folic acid should be added to flour after confirming last year it would be making the change to in a bid to prevent spinal conditions in babies.
A proposal to add 250 micrograms of folic acid per 100 grams of non-wholemeal flour is being put out for public consultation by Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Under the plans, pregnancies affected by neural tube defects could fall by more than a fifth, the Government has said.
A public consultation in 2019, led to the Government giving the green light for the fortification of flour with folic acid, a move which has already been taken in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Current advice to take a daily 400-microgram folic acid supplement before conceiving and up to the 12th week of pregnancy will continue to reduce the risk of neural tube defects affected pregnancies.
But with around 50% of pregnancies unplanned, it is hoped that adding folic acid to flour would protect more babies from conditions such as spina bifida.
Adding folic acid will mean foods made with flour, such as bread, will actively help avoid around 200 neural tube defects each year – around 20% of the annual UK total, the Government said.
The consultation is open to everyone and closes on 23 November.
Minister for public health Maggie Throup said: ‘Neural tube defects can have a devastating impact on life expectancy and quality of life.
‘This simple step will ensure more women who might be pregnant, or who are trying to conceive, will have increased intakes of folic acid, leading to a large reduction in the number of foetuses affected by [neural tube defects] each year.
‘I want to encourage anyone with an interest in this issue to participate in the consultation and help us deliver life-saving changes.’
The Government has previously clarified that GPs will still advise pregnant women to take folic acid supplements.
Last year, a spina bifida patient successfully sued her mother’s GP in a ground-breaking legal case, arguing that if her mother had been given adequate advice, she would never have been conceived or born.
