Folate backdown angers campaigners 

Source: ONE News

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The government backdown on adding folic acid to bread has angered disability groups that have been campaigning to introduce it for 20 years.

And ONE News has learned they have some high level backing from a key advisor to the Prime Minister.

Flour loses some of its natural folate when it is milled and campaigners say the issue has never been about bread - it has been about babies.

"What we're going to effectively do over the next three years is commit the equivalent of a classroom of New Zealand children to be aborted when it can be prevented," says campaigner Lyall Thurston whose son was born with a neural tube defect.

Science suggests this probably wouldn't have happened if bread had been fortified.

Dr Peter Gluckman says there would be aboput a two third reduction in the incidence of neural tube defects with the addition of folic acid without significantly elevating folate beyond the norm in anybody.

Gluckman reports directly to Prime Minister John Key and says he hopes that deferring the decision on vitamin b9 will stop the "scaremongering by various interest groups and the media".

"There's no real evidence of harm at the doses we're talking about...there is some laboratory evidence that chronic use in doses 20 to 50 times what we're talking about might do harm."

The PM's chief science advisor has read the dissenting reports and says the publicity has not helped.

"I don't think we've done a good job and quite frankly I don't think you guys have done a good job," says Gluckman.

Thurston describes the public campaign as an absolute disgrace. "Those who perpetrated it should be absolutely ashamed with themselves," he says.

He pushed for folate in all bread because he says too few bakers have volunteered to add it - something the industry seems to accept by promising to widen the range.

Bakers Association president Laurie Powell says potentially up to 50% of breads, including some of the basic, cheaper range, could have folic acid added to get at a particular target audience.

He denies any scaremongering and hopes the campaign has raised awareness about the need for women to get plenty of folate before they are pregnant.