Scotland Asks UK Government to Approve Adding Folic Acid to Flour

Scotland is considering whether to add folic acid to flour as concern mounts that there could be an increase in birth defects while the Westminster government delays a decision.

Scottish Public Health Minister Maureen Watt asked the UK government to approve the adding of folic acid to flour to reduce birth defects such as spina bifida.

Government advisers have recommended adding folic acid to flour for 16 years but the UK Department of Health says it is still “considering the matter”.

Since 1992 official advice has recommended women take folic acid supplements before pregnancy to reduce their risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect (NTD) – which involve defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord.

But experts have raised concerns that only a minority of women were taking such supplements, prompting calls to include folic acid in flour to boost its consumption.

Maureen Watt said she was disappointed that there had been “no progress” at UK level on mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

“I, along with my counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland, will consider how we might progress this should a decision not be forthcoming from the UK government,” she said, according to BBC.