U.S. Folic Acid Supplementation Effort May Not Be Reaching Hispanic Women

Corn masa flour and tortillas sold in U.S. grocery stores may not be fortified with folic acid, which means a government effort to help reduce birth defects among Hispanic babies may not be working as intended, a small study suggests.

Folic acid has long been linked to a lower risk of spina bifida and anencephaly, birth defects of the brain and spinal cord that can develop early in pregnancy, often before women know they have conceived. In 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required all enriched cereal grains – but not corn masa flour – to be fortified with folic acid. Fortification of corn masa flour became permissible but not mandatory in 2016.

In December 2017, researchers analyzed corn masa and corn tortilla products in 11 grocery stores in northeast Atlanta that cater to Hispanic residents. Only two of 20 corn masa flour products, and none of the 21 soft corn tortilla products, were labeled as containing folic acid, the researchers report in JAMA.

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