Folic acid decision deferred for three years

Photo / Babiche Martens

Bread is likely to remain folic-acid free for at least three years after the Government deferred a decision on whether to force bakers to add it to their mix.

It was looking at making the change mandatory from September, as part of its obligations under a joint New Zealand-Australia food standard which the previous Labour government signed up to.

However, Food Safety Minister Kate Wilkinson this week reached an agreement with Australian counterpart Mark Butler that exempted New Zealand from the trans-Tasman standard.

Cabinet will tomorrow consider the issue but is expected to defer the decision on introducing it until May 2012.

A spokesman for the minister told NZPA public consultation was likely to run "for a few weeks", with a decision having to be made by the end of the August.

If the three-year deferral emerged as the preferred option, the time would be used "to fully assess the merits, or otherwise, of the debate", Prime Minister John Key told TVNZ's Q+A programme.

The final decision would then not have to be made until after the next election.

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.

However, community pressure mounted as the deadline approached.

Opponents branded the proposal "mass medication" and claimed it could increase the cancer risk for older people.

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.

The only exceptions were to be organic and non-yeast leavened breads.

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

"It's quite a scary intervention to dose an entire country," Ms Rich, a former National MP, told the Sunday Star-Times.

- NZPA