Folic Acid

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I thank the noble Baroness for raising that issue. This is a devolved matter, and obviously we are mindful of the practical aspects of the proposals, given the amount of trade that occurs within the United Kingdom’s single market. We are working very closely with officials in the devolved Administrations and, although it is not quite there yet, we anticipate that it will be a UK-wide consultation.

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

My Lords, when I was on the Front Bench, I used to dream about the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, and folic acid.

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

It seemed to be a Question that came up every day, and I am very pleased that finally there seems to be some resolution. However, I should like to ask the Minister about the problems that could occur with flour bought from abroad. A lot of artisan bakers now buy their flour from abroad, so how will we deal with fortification in that regard?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

My noble friend is quite right, and that is why the consultation is so important. A number of bakers buy their flour abroad. Noble Lords will be aware that, in many—in fact, in all—European countries, there is no fortification of flour at all; they are not in favour of fortification. We have also to consider the smaller-volume producers, for example, who might find fortification difficult as they try to combine folic acid with smaller quantities of dough for bread.