Folic acid to be added to NI flour to help prevent spinal defects

Folic acid will be added to flour in Northern Ireland to help prevent life-threatening spinal conditions in babies, Health Minister Robin Swann has announced.

The move is in line with the rest of the UK and was agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive.

The new rules will only apply to non-wholemeal wheat flour, with gluten-free foods and wholemeal flour exempt.

Mr Swann said the move would have "significant public health benefits".

Women are advised to take the B vitamin - which can guard against spina bifida in unborn babies - before and during pregnancy, but many do not.

It is thought that adding folic acid to flour could prevent up to 200 birth defects a year.

Mr Swann said: "In Northern Ireland we have a higher incidence of birth defects due to folic acid deficiency, which disproportionately impacts on those living in areas of higher social deprivation."

He said the move had the potential to bring significant public health benefits.

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He added: "The importance of folic acid at pre-conception and during pregnancy is well-evidenced.

"The fortification of flour with folic acid is already an established measure in 80 countries globally."

Mr Swann said countries including Australia, New Zealand and Canada had seen a reduction in neural tube defects as a result.

Neural tube defects, such as spina bifida (abnormal development of the spine) and anencephaly, a serious condition where large parts of the brain and skull do not develop properly, affect about 1,000 pregnancies per year in the UK

Babies with anencephaly are stillborn or die shortly after birth.

Many babies diagnosed with spina bifida survive into adulthood, but will experience life-long impairment.

'Years of campaigning'

Democratic Unionist Party peer Lord Dodds, whose son Andrew died with spina bifida in 1998, said it was "a truly historic day and will benefit the lives of countless children yet to be born".

Lord Dodds added that he had spent "years of campaigning to have this life-saving measure introduced throughout the UK".

He said it would prevent "the birth of many babies who otherwise might be born with neural tube defects including spina bifida and anencephaly."

Lord Dodds said it was "a truly historic day"

Pregnant women or those planning a pregnancy are recommended to take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day before pregnancy and until they are 12 weeks pregnant.

However, about half of pregnancies in the UK are unplanned and the action help protect more babies, especially where supplements are not taken early enough.

Northern Ireland chief medical officer Sir Michael McBride said fortifying flour with folic acid allowed pregnant women "to increase their intake of the important nutrient and reduce their risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect".

"In the first 12 weeks of pregnancy the neural tube forms the early part of the brain and spine," he added.

"Not getting enough folate (Vitamin B9) in early pregnancy can lead to neural tube defects and result in spinal conditions such as spina bifida or anencephaly."