Synthetic Folic Acid to be added to all UK wheat flours starting Dec 2026 - big mistake

Mandatory Folic Acid for every man, woman & child

Gives 14 reasons why it is wrong, along with references

"The number needed to treat is roughly 440 women to prevent one neural tube defect.
The number needed to harm is one in 50 women suffering a lost pregnancy.
The harm is about nine times more likely than the benefit.
Where are the safety studies for a whole population?"

Wholemeal flour still has its natural folate

Claude AI Sept 2026

Since the bran and germ are kept, wholemeal flour retains its naturally occurring folate, much of which sits in those outer layers. Whole wheat flour typically contains about 40–50 µg of folate per 100 g, compared with roughly 25 µg in unfortified white flour.

The comparison changes once fortification enters the picture. In the US, "enriched" white flour must have folic acid added (around 150–200 µg per 100 g), so it ends up with far more folate than whole wheat flour, which is not enriched. The UK is set to require folic acid in non-wholemeal wheat flour from late 2026, with wholemeal exempt. Australia has required folic acid in wheat flour for bread-making since 2009, with organic flour exempt.

The two forms also differ in how well they're absorbed and how well they survive cooking. Natural food folate (mostly polyglutamate forms such as 5-methyl-THF) is absorbed at roughly 50%, versus about 85% for synthetic folic acid taken with food. That gap is why "dietary folate equivalents" (DFE) weight folic acid at 1.7×. Natural folate is also sensitive to heat, oxidation, and light, so a fair share can be lost during storage and baking. Fermentation partly offsets this, because yeast synthesizes some folate, so sourdough and long-fermented breads can come out higher.

In short, wholemeal flour is a modest natural source of folate. It is not a match for fortified flour, and it could not meet higher needs, such as around conception, on its own.

70-80 countries mandate that folic acid be added to flour, rice, etc. Sept 2026

Claude AI

Roughly 70–80+ countries, depending on how you count. The spread comes from whether a tally counts countries with legislation on the books or countries whose standards currently require folic acid, and whether it counts only wheat flour or also maize flour and rice.

  • About 70 (the most recent specific figure). A late-2025 systematic review reports that 93 countries mandate wheat flour fortification alone or with other grains, and as of 2025, 70 of these include folate in their mandatory standards [J Nutr 2025]. This number reflects the Food Fortification Initiative's current tracking.
  • "More than 80." This is the figure often quoted in press coverage of the UK decision. According to the Food Fortification Initiative, there may be more than 80 countries that mandate folic acid addition to reduce NTDs [Campden BRI]. An older FFI review noted that 80 countries' fortification standards require folic acid in wheat flour, maize flour, or rice [FFI review]. That means some countries in the 80 cover maize flour or rice rather than bread flour.

The latest additions are:

  • New Zealand. It legislated mandatory folic acid fortification on July 19, 2023 [eClinicalMedicine 2023].
  • United Kingdom. It requires non-wholemeal wheat flour to be fortified with folic acid, fully in force on 13 December 2026. Some products were expected to start fortification in autumn 2025 [Food Standards Scotland]. Wholemeal flour is exempt.

The EU still has no member state with a mandate. So in practice, "about 70 countries with folic acid in current mandatory standards, plus the UK in December" is probably the most defensible statement. The FFI's live country map at https://ffinetwork.org/ would give the exact current count

Related in VitaminDWiki

Created September 2026
Tags: Folic Acid or Folate
URL: http://www.vitamindwiki.com/pages/synthetic-folic-acid-to-be-added-to-all-uk-wheat-flours-in-the-uk-starting-dec-2026-big-mistake/
Printed September 23, 2026