Govt ditches folic acid plan

The bun-fight is over. Bakers will not be forced by law to add folic acid to our bread, bagels, crumpets and English muffins. The Key government will announce this week that it is throwing out the former government's policy.

Cabinet is expected to formalise the government's position when it meets tomorrow, effectively putting the controversial issue on the back burner for three years and, crucially, beyond the next election.

The government is not convinced that making folic acid a compulsory ingredient in all bread is necessary, and wants more time to assess the evidence. Folic acid has been shown to reduce the risk of babies being born with defects such as spina bifida, but bakers say women would need to eat at least 11 slices of bread a day to make a difference to the health of their unborn child.

The Key government favours a voluntary regime. It has been looking for a way to wriggle out of the trans-Tasman agreement, struck by the former Labour government, and due to take effect on September 1.

Community pressure mounted as the deadline approached. Radio talkback shows were last week inundated with indignant callers.

The Star-Times understands that Food Minister Kate Wilkinson on Thursday reached an agreement with the Australian parliamentary secretary for health, Mark Butler, that exempts New Zealand from the new standard.

When asked to confirm the deal, a spokesman for the minister declined to comment until cabinet had dealt with the matter.

Bakers dispute the professed health benefits of folic acid in bread and insist that the only certainty would be a rise in their business costs.

Under the trans-Tasman agreement, folic acid was to be mandatory in all wheat flour products, including sweet breads and rolls, bagels, foccacia, English muffins and flat breads that contain yeast.

Crumpets, scones, pancakes, pikelets, crepes, yeast donuts, pizza bases and crumbed products were also to be fortified with folic acid.

Only organic and non-yeast leavened breads were to be exempt under the agreement.

Folate is a B group vitamin found naturally in food such as green leafy vegetables. Folic acid is the manufactured form used in supplements and is more easily absorbed than natural folate.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand says consuming enough folic acid substantially reduces the risk of neural tube defects, which affects up to 75 pregnancies in New Zealand every year.

The regulator also says high doses of folic acid are not known to have any adverse effects on healthy people, although two US studies have linked excessive folate to higher rates of prostate cancer in men and inflammatory bowel disease in children.

The former food safety minister, Annette King, said at the time the decision was made to make folic acid mandatory in bread that it was "a triumph for humanity and common sense", and would mean up to 14 fewer neural tube defect-affected pregnancies a year.

It is generally accepted, however, that pregnant and breastfeeding women would still need to take folic acid supplements even if the vitamin was a compulsory ingredient in bread. Eating bread would provide only 140 micrograms a day when the total recommended daily intake was 600mcg.

Katherine Rich, chief executive of the Food and Grocery Council, said many New Zealanders would breathe a sigh of relief because they did not like the idea of the government tampering with their bread.

There were genuine concerns about the health effects and the prime minister was right to delay any decision until all the facts were known, she said. It was also an issue about freedom of choice.

"It's quite a scary intervention to dose an entire country," Rich, a former National MP, said.

"A trip to the baker should not be a trip to the chemist."

- © Fairfax NZ News