The Folate Debate |
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The BIANZ issued this press release on the issues raised by the prospect of having a mandatory folate additive in bread. Issue: Mandatory fortification of bread with folate.� The Baking Industry Association of New Zealand believes that this is up to individuals responsibility to decide on their own nutritional requirements and not for bakers to decide.We value consumer choice and are particularly proud of the fact that the trends in baking are leaning towards healthier associated products. We see that regulating ingredients in our industry will only take away the consumers free choice. At present bakers can decide to add folate to bread products if consumer demand dictates. We support any voluntary action for bakers to achieve this point of difference. If the government was to go ahead with the mandatory fortification of bread we would request some further research be undertaken: What are the recommended amounts of bread to be consumed by woman to achieve the nutritional levels required with folic acid? Considering the target market is females between the age of 16 and 30, we have anecdotal evidence that the woman of this age are not large consumers of bread products, and therefore the folate issue would be negated. We would encourage further research to substantiate how much bread the target audience consumes. We believe the governments role should be to set nutritional guidelines and educate the public on the benefits.� |
