An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report has revealed that the 2009 mandate by Federal Government to add folic acid and iodine to all breads except organic breads is a major success. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code introduced the mandatory fortification of bread with folic acid and iodine. Review of the bread fortification program conducted by AIHW has found that the overall rate of neural tube defects (NTDs) has decreased by 14.4 percent since its introduction.
The drastic step was taken by the Federal Government to battle two major health issues, severe birth defects (spina bifida) caused by a lack of folic acid and re-emergence of iodine deficiency. Now, it has been reported that neural birth defects in Australian babies have reduced significantly since the introduction of folate to bread.
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