The supplementation of vitamin B12 and folic acid in toddlers has reduced their plasma concentrations of fasting total homocysteine (tHcy) – an amino acid that is linked to cardiometabolic diseases when in elevated levels.
The New Zealand food industry is calling for an updated national nutrition study to find out accurate folic acid intake levels in order to ensure that the government is not ’flying blind’ in its recent decision to mandate the addition of this to flour.
Pakistani women require a multifaceted solution to the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), according to researchers in Pakistan and Australia.
Quatrefolic, the metabolically active form of folate, has been granted approval as a certified food additive by the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).
Major brands and millers have agreed to fortify wheat flour with iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 under India’s drive to boost nutrition levels through a mass fortification programme.
Australian women are well aware that folic acid (PFS) and iodine (IS) are recommended supplements to take during pregnancy, but only a quarter of them adhere to the recommendations, scientists report.
So-called multivitamin and mineral pregnancy supplements are “an unnecessary expense” for most expectant mothers, according to a review of current UK guidance for pregnancy supplementation. Yet industry has called the statements dangerously misleading.
For many years, countries across the developing world have fortified staples such as maize flour, wheat flour and oil with micronutrients that are deficient in the diet. In Nigeria, for example, flour, maize, oil and sugar have been fortified with vitamin...
Supplementation with vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid may improve cognitive function in older people with mild cognitive impairment, says a new study from Korea.
Taking folic acid supplements pre-conception may lower the risk of preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age, but post-conception may be too late to have an effect, according to research in 240,954 pregnant women.
A combination of folic acid and the medication enalapril may be more effective in reducing the risk of stroke in adults with hypertension than the medication alone, according to large-scale research from China.
DSM Nutritional Products (DNP) is not abandoning its folic acid (vitamin B9) offering but has added a high-end, folate form aimed at global supplement and food makers in a deal with Merck in Switzerland.
New findings that the body is less efficient at metabolising folic acid than natural folates could inform policy-making decisions as the UK government considers mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.
Vitamin Angels is combating hidden hunger by helping children under five, pregnant women and new mothers gain access to lifesaving and life changing micronutrients. Check out this photo gallery to learn more about the causes of hidden hunger and see the...
The question of whether or not to mandatorily fortify bread with folic acid in New Zealand has reached fever pitch, with one opponent being called a “folate hater” on national television.
The question of whether to go ahead with folic acid fortification of bread in New Zealand continues to be a contentious one, with another report moving against it.
New Zealand opposition party members are calling on the government to fortify the country’s flour supply and bread output with folic acid, following reports of the success of a similar program across the Tasman Sea in Australia.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has announced that as of Sunday, Australian bread makers must use folic acid-enriched flour to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) in newborns.
The New Zealand baking industry has said it will move towards a voluntary fortification of some breads with folic acid as the government is expected to delay plans for mandatory fortification.
The mandatory fortification of bread with folic acid in New Zealand is likely to be delayed for another three years, following heated debate over the risks and benefits of adding the synthetic B vitamin to bread.
Australian baker George Weston Foods says government plans to
require all bread to be fortified with folic acid are based on
inadequate science and should not be brought into law.
