Ministers urged to stand firm on folate
Two of Australia's pioneers in folate research have urged the Federal government to hold firm in its support for mandatory fortification, despite increasing pressure from vested interests in the food industry.
The advocacy and research by Professors Fiona Stanley and Carol Bower from Perth's The Kids for Child Health Research will be recognised tonight by the Flour Fortification Initiative, who will present them with a National Leadership Award.
Professor Stanley, the 2003 Australian of the Year, said the mandatory fortification of flour or bread with folate will ensure that many more women get enough folate to protect their babies from devastating neural tube defects (NTDs) such as spina bifida.
"Mandatory fortification is already a reality in more than 40 other countries including the United States and we must continue to move forward on this critical public health initiative," Professor Stanley said.
"No where else in the world has seen the type of negative and irresponsible campaign that has been mounted by the food industry here in Australia.
"While we support the current review by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) to look at whether it is easier to fortify flour or bread, we must push forward with fortification as soon as possible."
Professor Carol Bower said there was strong scientific evidence that mandatory fortification was necessary to deliver the benefits of folate.
"We've had voluntary fortification and education campaigns over the past 16 years to encourage supplements, yet the levels of NTDs have dropped by 30% when we know that this figure could be as high as 70%," Professor Bower said.
"Every delay condemns more unborn children to a life with a very debilitating, but often preventable, birth defect.
"To be effective, folate intake must be increased before conception. Mandatory fortification will mean better protection for everyone, particularly vulnerable groups including the young, people in remote communities with less access to fresh fruit and vegetables, indigenous mothers, and for the 40% of women whose pregnancies were unplanned."
In 1989 the Medical Journal of Australia published Professors Bower and Stanley's scientific paper that, among others internationally, showed the powerful effect of folate in reducing neural tube defects. Since then they have been vocal advocates for folate education, and ran the world's first public health campaign to raise awareness of folate. In the past four years, they have lobbied for mandatory fortification, which was agreed to in principle by the State and Federal Food Regulation Ministers in October.
Professor Bower said FSANZ had already done a thorough scientific review of the evidence for folate fortification over the last 2 years with widespread consultation.
"As researchers, we believe that it is very important that we monitor the effects of fortification after it is introduced. What's most important now is that we don't allow industry to put their wishes ahead of the public health."
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Fiona Stanley, Carol Bower and leading New Zealand advocate Lyall Thurston are to receive the FFI Leadership Award during a ceremony on 5 February from 5.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. at Experiment Farm, Ruse Street Parramatta in Sydney. The farm is the site where wheat was first grown in Australia, more than 200 years ago.