Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to consult industry to make both fortified and unfortified flour with appropriate labelling available before introducing the mandatory fortification of flour by the addition of folic acid.

Plans are currently being developed to consult on a change to the Bread and Flour Regulations. The change would permit the production of unfortified flour in the UK under certain limited circumstances where the flour is destined for use as an ingredient in further processing. This consultation will not focus on the fundamental issue of fortification. It will consider options to ensure that UK produced flour used by manufacturers is not put at a disadvantage compared to unfortified flour produced in other Member States.

Health Ministers have yet to make a decision on mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid. They are awaiting data on the blood folate status of the population, which is expected in early 2015.