Millers and flour producers will have to fortify non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid from the end of 2026 under new legislation introduced by Defra.
The changes, which were first posed by the government in 2021, come as part of an update to the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 conducted under the Food Compositional Standards and Labelling (FCSL) UK Common Framework, working collaboratively with the devolved governments and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Flour is already fortified with calcium, niacin, thiamine, and iron. The addition of folic acid is to reduce neural tube defects in babies by 20% in the UK and improve the health of pregnant women, according to Defra which added it will deliver savings of around £20 million to the NHS over 10 years and boost the economy by more than £90 million over 10 years.
As previously confirmed, wholemeal flour and mills which produce less than 500 tonnes of flour a year are exempt from the changes.
Other key changes to the regulations as part of the update are:
- Technical amendments to clarify requirements and definitions, to ensure consistency with other food standards legislation including increasing minimum levels of nutrients and updating specification criteria, enabling understanding and compliance
- An update to the compositional rules of wholemeal flour, removing barriers to compliance while maintaining consumer protection
- An exemption from fortification requirements for small-scale millers (producing less than 500 metric tonnes of flour per year). This removes disproportionate burden on smaller-scale producers without compromising the public health outcomes of the policy
- Introducing the use of improvement notices. This is a more proportionate and efficient way to address non-compliance and reduces risk of excessive costs associated with court time when criminal proceedings are brought.
The government said it was continuing to engage with the food industry to support them to implement the changes, which will apply to the whole of the UK. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will introduce their own regulations in due course.
“Fortified flour has been providing our country with a public health boost for 80 years and this latest collaboration across government will help give the nation’s children a strong start in life,” said minister for Food Security, Daniel Zeichner.
“We are grateful to industry for their efforts to support a smooth transition, with manufacturers having a 24-month transition period to adjust their processes.”
No comments yet