Flour could include folic acid to prevent risk of birth defects

Food supplement Legislation for the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid as a measure to prevent neural tube defects in early pregnancy could realistically be in place by January 2006, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

Mandatory folic acid food fortification programmes, which have been in place in the United States and Canada since 1998 have reduced the incidence of neural tube defects by between 20 per cent to 50 per cent. "We estimate such a measure could reduce the incidence of neural tube defects in Ireland by between 30 and 40 per cent," said FSAI deputy chief executive Mr Alan Reilly.

And although no EU member-state currently has the mandatory fortification of food products with folic acid, the move is under urgent review in a number of countries, he added.

"Countries such as Sweden who like us have a high rate of neural tube defects are looking closely at it."

Just before leaving the Department of Health, Mr Micheal Martin set up a national committee on the fortification of food with folic acid.

This committee, chaired by Maureen Lynott in the National Treatment Purchase Fund, is expected to hold its first meeting before Christmas.

The committee will draw on recommendations from the FSAI which suggest the universal fortification of flour at 200 micrograms per 100g in food products.

A report issued by the FSAI in March 2003 stated that fortification to such levels would have a significant effect in preventing neural tube defects without resulting in "appreciable risk of adverse health effects from high intakes in any group of the population".

Meanwhile, today the Irish Association of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IASBAH) are launching a campaign to encourage all women of child-bearing age to take a daily folic acid supplement of 400 micrograms to reduce the risk of neural tube defects developing in early pregnancy.

The campaign will target all women - and not just those considering having a baby in an effort to reach out to those with unplanned pregnancies.

Studies have found that up to 50 per cent of pregnancies are unplanned in the Republic. Research published in the British Medical Journal in May also found that 50 per cent of the population - and not 10 per cent as was previously thought - are at increased risk of having babies born with neural tube defects. The study found neural tube defects could occur when the gene variant which results in the inadequate processing of folic acid is present in duplicate (i.e. when the baby has inherited a copy from each parent) and when the gene variant is present as a single copy (i.e. when the baby has inherited a copy from one parent only).

It was previously thought neural tube defects associated with this particular gene variant could only occur if the baby inherited copies of the gene from both parents. The researchers from the Health Research Board, Trinity College, Dublin, the American Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the American Human Genome Research Institute reported that the presence of the gene variant known as C677T accounts for about 26 per cent of all neural tube defects.