Some opinions on adding folic acid to flour:

Yvette Cooper, Minister for Public Health and mother of a young child, said: "This shows the importance of folic acid intake in preventing the tragic occurrence or neural tube defects in unborn children and babies.
"We are very keen to encourage measures to prevent spina bifida and other NTDs and will shortly be consulting widely on these conclusions."

Tony Britton, of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, said: "My organisation has been campaigning for the fortification of flour for five years.
"We’re delighted that the government is poised to take the COMA recommendations on board."

Melanie Avery, the Royal College of Midwives’ regional manager for the South of England said: "Obviously we are very supportive of folic acid but there is an issue about making things compulsory.
"We are aware that sometimes folic acid can cause problems for some people, for example some people taking medication for epilepsy, so these issues need to be explored."

Babyworld member Annette (name has been changed) said: "I took folic acid but only after I discovered I was pregnant as we had been trying so long we almost thought we weren’t going to have a child.
"I did worry I had left it too late for folic acid to be of benefit and I would have liked to have felt my diet had folic acid in it as routine, so I would be keen to see it in flour."

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