Proposed mandatory fortification of the UK diet with folic acid: have potential risks been underestimated?

This article discusses the recent consultation by the UK Department of Health and Food Standards Agency on the risk-benefit of a whole population strategy for increased intake of folic acid via the fortification of flour. The potential benefit of folic acid in relation to decreased incidence of Neural Tube Defects in the newly born is contrasted to the potential risk of increasing permanent neuropathy (nerve damage) in those suffering from vitamin B-12 deficiency. Questions are also raised with regard to the potential risk of folic acid addition in the context of pre-existing malignant neoplasms, and the incidence of dichorionic twin births. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.