Try buying a week’s food without folic acid.
Dr Clare Craig
| Key points. From 13 December 2026 almost all non-wholemeal wheat flour must contain folic acid, and mills have been legally able to start adding it since Autumn 2024. Asked to let people opt out, the Government replied that individuals can “avoid fortified flour if they choose to or need to”. Choice was meant to be in the form of wholemeal, gluten free products and ancient grains. Products in every one of those supposedly protected categories now contain folic acid. Even organic is no guarantee. What do British shops look like in 2026? |
Folic acid is an oxidisied, synthetic licensed medicine. It is not the same molecule as folate (vitamin B9). As with all drugs it comes with negative effects and the NHS warns millions to be careful of it.
These millions have been neglected in government decision making. The only nod towards people who might need to avoid it was that “not fortifying wider than the type of flour that is presently fortified, means that individuals can avoid fortified flour if they choose to or need to.” They then named the alternatives: “wholemeal flour, gluten-free products and other flour types such as soya or spelt flour”.
The Government’s response to the folic acid petition. The highlighted words are its answer to anyone who needs to avoid the drug.
Is that true? This article will shop around and see.
The model assumed a reduction in voluntary fortification
First, it is important to note that the government modelling that was relied on to justify a dose of 250 micrograms per 100 grams assumed there would be a cap on exposure from non-mandatory sources including breakfast cereals, spreads and supplements. The model was based on a legal cap on exposure from these sources. SACN included capping as a condition to its recommendation in 2006, repeated it in 2009 and repeated it again in 2017. Voluntary fortification was to be restricted so that mandatory fortification did not push more people over the upper limit. The regulations made in 2024 did not include any cap. The response from industry has been to add folic acid “voluntarily” to far more food items than ever before.
Although the amount in a single product may be small it is the cumulative effect of fortification across a diet that matters. Much of the voluntary fortification predates the mandate but the recommendation was that such sources should be reduced.
Let’s take a walk round the shop.
The bread aisle
Wholemeal bread must legally contain only wholemeal flour. Wholemeal flour is exempt, so the obvious solution is to buy wholemeal bread.
M&S Medium Wholemeal Super Soft Loaf.
Wholemeal wheatflour first, ordinary wheatflour further down, fortified with calcium, iron, vitamins B3, B1 and folic acid.
The M&S Medium Wholemeal Super Soft Loaf begins with wholemeal wheat flour but further down the same list white wheat flour is added, containing folic acid.
M&S 6 Wholemeal Pittas. Wholemeal wheat flour, water, yeast, vinegar, salt, then wheat flour fortified with folic acid.
The wholemeal pittas and many other wholemeal products add white flour and expose people to folic acid which they might need to avoid.
Jason’s Sourdough 09 Wholemeal Ciabattin. Wholemeal wheat flour first. Fortified wheat flour last.
This photograph of Jason’s sourdough wholemeal loaf is now out of date and in response to customer complaints they have removed folic acid from this one type of loaf.
How about one of the products claiming only four ingredients?
The panel on the back lists the flour and the five things added to it.
There it is.
OK – wheat bread is not a good option. What about ancient grains? They are exempt.
Tesco Finest Ancient Grain Bread Mix with Rye Sourdough.
Wheat flour with folic acid is the first ingredient, ahead of the rye.
Maybe gluten free bread could work? That is also exempt from the mandate.
Genius Gluten Free 4 Soft White Rolls. Folic acid added under vitamins and minerals.
Genius Gluten Free Handcrafted Tiger Bloomer. Same.
Genius celebrates this saying it fortifies its breads so that they are “as nutritious as wholegrain wheat bread”.
Maybe a different brand of gluten free bread? An M&S sandwich?
M&S Made Without Wheat 4 Seeded Sliced Sandwich Squares. Tapioca starch, seeds, rice flour, and folic acid at the end of the vitamin list.
Even these M&S gluten free squares are adding it.
In July a shopper went into a Boots in London for a sandwich. Every sandwich looked at listed folic acid, including the wholemeal ones. He checked M&S, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op the same day and found the same thing.
We have to leave the bread aisle empty handed. Perhaps we can head to the baking aisle and make our own bread? No luck. All non-wholemeal flour including organic and imported flour is covered by the mandate.
Doves Farm Organic Strong White Bread Flour.
Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour.
Sainsbury’s organic self-raising flour.
Organic bread flour. Organic plain flour. Organic self-raising flour.
Lunch
Sandwiches are off. Can we manage a wrap? They are made of corn tortillas, right?
Tesco Hoisin Duck wrap. Wheat flour, first ingredient.
No.
Pret A Manger Kale & Cauli Macaroni Cheese. In the béchamel.
Maybe some hot food from Pret. The folic acid is in the béchamel.
Chicken and noodles
Morrisons The Best Korean Inspired Salad.
A supermarket Korean salad, where folic acid appears twice. Once in the noodles, and again in the light soy sauce.
Waitrose Chicken Teriyaki Donburi Rice Bowl.
A chicken teriyaki rice bowl. Cooked rice, sesame, chicken thigh, spring greens, and wheat flour with folic acid near the end of a long list.
No lunch. After a long day perhaps you might want something quick to make once you get home?
Charlie Bigham’s Fish Pie for 1.
A fish pie. Potatoes, milk, hake, salmon, cream, smoked haddock, butter, and then fortified flour.
Waitrose Vegetable Lasagne.
The same applies to cottage pies and lasagnes.
Fray Bentos Chicken Meatballs in Gravy.
Chicken meatballs in gravy with folic acid inside the meatball.
What about other meat products?
The Bury Black Pudding Co. Water first, fortified wheat flour second.
No black pudding.
Surely organic meat would be safe?
Duchy Organic 6 British Pork Sausages.
Organic pork sausages. Sausages need a binder and the binder is… fortified wheat flour.
Perhaps vegetarian sausages would be a better bet?
Quorn Cocktail Sausages.
The meat free version is no different. In Quorn cocktail sausages fortified wheat flour appears three separate times, in the textured wheat protein, in the rusk and in the seasoning.
The store cupboard
By now the shopper is resigned to cooking from scratch with ingredients that must each be checked. Even this is a huge problem. Ingredients where they may never think there was an issue contain it.
Tesco English Mustard.
Tesco Beef Suet.
OXO Beef Stock Cubes.
Mustard. Beef suet. Stock cubes.
Bisto gravy granules.
Tesco Beef Gravy Granules.
Batchelors Slim a Soup Minestrone.
Jus-Rol ready rolled puff pastry.
Snacks
Hula Hoops Puft.
Golden Wonder Onion Rings. Fortified wheat flour twice, in the semolina blend and in the rusk.
McCain Home Chips.
Oven chips, where the folic acid is in the batter on the chip.
McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, mango flavour.
M&S Tangy Taramasalata.
Jaffa Cakes. Taramasalata.
The exemptions have failed to provide the promised consumer escape route. Someone trying to avoid folic acid now has a very restricted diet.
Breakfast, and bedtime
There are multiple sources of exposure that existed before the mandate. It is surprising how much is being added.
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. Rice flour, no wheat flour, folic acid added.
Rice Krispies is eaten overwhelmingly by children. The upper limits used for children were not derived from studies in children. They were extrapolated from adult data and no upper limit has been set for children under one.
Weetabix Oatibix. 170 micrograms of folic acid per 100 grams. 85 micrograms in a two biscuit serving.
Oatibix contains 170 micrograms of folic acid per 100 grams and 85 micrograms in a two biscuit serving. The daily upper limit estimated for a one to three year old is 200 micrograms. Children are starting the day at 40 percent of their estimated safe upper limit.
Marmite. 1,250 micrograms of folic acid per 100 grams, added directly.
Marmite contains plenty of natural folate. Lucy Wills in 1938 showed that anaemia of pregnancy could be treated using marmite. For some reason, the manufacturers are adding 1,250 micrograms of synthetic folic acid per 100 grams. One serving of 8 grams is 100 micrograms or half a toddler’s limit for the day before anything else is eaten.
Horlicks and Ovaltine.
Horlicks and Ovaltine both carry it. Ovaltine is made from barley malt extract and contains no wheat flour at all. These drinks are traditionally consumed by older people. Around a fifth of people over 60 have low vitamin B12, often undiagnosed. High folic acid intake can correct the anaemia of B12 deficiency while the neurological damage continues, delaying diagnosis. That is the harm on which the adult upper limit was decided.
FUEL10K Strawberry High Protein Milk Breakfast Drink.
Fulfil White Chocolate Cookies & Cream protein bar.
If grabbing breakfast on the go look out for the flavoured milk drinks and protein bars. Neither contains flour. Both have folic acid added directly.
The baby aisle
HiPP Organic Banana & Plum Porridge. Oat based, organic, baby food, folic acid added.
This is an organic baby oat porridge to which folic acid has been added.
The Government’s own modelling estimates that 4.37 percent, or 1 in 23, of one to three year olds will exceed their upper limit once flour is fortified and nothing else is capped, compared to 0.63 percent of the population overall. That calculation excludes children under 18 months altogether, on the stated assumption that they “eat very little flour”.
For children under one, no upper limit for folic acid has ever been set.
Conclusion
The Government claims people who choose or need to avoid folic acid can do so. Looking only at what was exempted that might sound plausible but in the supermarket the reality is very different.
Wholemeal products, gluten free products, ancient grain products all contain folic acid. Organic flour is even fortified. Even someone who managed to avoid our staple food altogether would be faced with folic acid that has snuck into sauces, sausages, stock cubes, noodles, oven chips, breakfast cereals, drinks and even baby food.
Technically, it may still be possible to avoid folic acid. You can cook largely from scratch and carefully examine every ingredient list. But that is not the easy choice the Government described.
The Government’s own modelling assumed that other sources of folic acid would be restricted not increased. The dosage implications are obvious.
If the millions that the NHS warns to take care with folic acid are to be told that they can avoid it “if they choose to or need to”, then that choice needs to exist in practice not just on paper.
