A GROUP set up to implement a recommendation that all bread be fortified with folic acid has advised the Department of Health against introducing mandatory fortification at this time.
The implementation group on folic acid fortification released its findings yesterday and said there would no benefit to public health in introducing mandatory folic acid fortification now.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said the report and its recommendations were being considered by the department.
Folic acid is proven to assist in the prevention of neural tube defects such as spina bifida if taken prior to conception and up to 12 weeks after conception.
In 2005, the national committee on folic acid fortification recommended that all bread on the market should be fortified with folic acid on a mandatory basis because the folate status in the Irish diet was low.
The B vitamin is contained in some fruits, green leafy vegetables and dried beans.
The implementation group was set up to review and implement the recommendations. Its report, released yesterday, found that women of childbearing age now received 30 per cent more folate in their diet as compared to three years ago, due to voluntary fortification across the food sector.
This was coupled with a reduction in the incidence of neural tube defects from 1/1.5 to 0.93 per 1,000 births during that time. It also pointed to preliminary and inconclusive data which suggested a link between high levels of folic acid and certain cancers.
Alan Reilly, chairman of the implementation group and deputy chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, stressed that the potential link between excessive folic acid intake and cancer was “inconsistent and inconclusive” and said new data was likely to be available later this year.
The implementation group said further decisions should not be made until this data was considered.
Mr Reilly said the environment had changed significantly since the recommendation for mandatory fortification was made and food manufacturers were now adding folic acid to foodstuffs such as dairy spreads, fruit juices, milk, yogurts, soups and cereal bars.
The reduction of neural tube defects to 0.93 per 1,000 births was “close to the lowest level that can be achieved through folic acid fortification of food, therefore any further steps in this area would not provide much additional protection”, he added.
Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland has run several campaigns highlighting the importance of folic acid in the early stages of pregnancy. Its chief executive, George Kennedy, said the group would have to study the report in detail before giving its response.
The Food Safety Authority has recommended that women of childbearing age receive 400 micrograms of folic acid every day to help prevent birth defects.