Folic acid is being added to flour in the UK. Here’s what you need to know.
From the end of 2026, folic acid will be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour across the UK, whether you want it or not. That means it'll show up in bread, biscuits, pizza, ready meals & a huge number of everyday foods.
Consumers didn't ask for it & chances are you haven’t even heard about it but the UK Government is quietly following Australia & the US by adding folic acid to flour. It’ll affect 30% of the foods we eat.
Your food is about to change, whether you like it or not
The UK Government’s decided to follow the lead from Australia & the US to make folic acid an ingredient that must be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour from the end of 2026. That won’t just affect bread, it’ll affect 30% of foods we eat. But food producers are already adding it to a range of products. Small scale flour mills, making under 500 tons per year, will be exempt but local & artisan bakeries still buy their flour from large & small producers.
What is folate? The natural compound your body needs
Folate’s a natural vitamin. It’s a natural food substance found in a large range of whole foods like broccoli, nuts, seeds, avocado, bananas & eggs. Every cell in your body needs folate. It’s key to several of your body’s natural processes like:
Making RNA
Making DNA
Switching genes on & off
Needed to make red blood cells
Keeps the nervous system healthy
& many more
Why Is the UK Government adding folic acid to flour?
According to the Government, they want it added to non-wholemeal wheat flour to achieve a 20% reduction in neural tube defects, NTDs. NTDs include conditions like Spina Bifida but also include other brain, spine & spinal cord conditions in newborns.
For women having babies, the Government’s recommendation to avoid NTDs is to take 400µg daily before pregnancy & during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. As an estimate, based on UK conception rates, there’s about 400k women who fall into that category at any one time, yet 99% of households buy flour & bread products. To put that into perspective, almost everyone will have folic acid added to their diet while the mandate is designed to help less than 0.6% of the population.
Folic acid vs folate. They're not the same thing.
Folic acid is a synthetic compound, also known as vitamin B9. It doesn’t occur in nature & can only be created synthetically. Folic acid is not the same as folate. The body needs to break down folic acid to convert it to folate & not everyone can do that efficiently. Folic acid is broken down in the liver whereas folate is processed in the intestines.
Folate is a naturally occurring food substance. If you gave it to someone & their body didn’t need it the folate would simply pass through their body. However if you give that person folic acid their folate levels change regardless.
Research suggests that when folic acid isn’t fully processed by the body, it can build up in the blood. There’s questions around this affecting brain development during pregnancy & early infancy. Although this link hasn’t been proven, there’s enough research to suggest this needs serious attention, especially at a time when the government is about to add folic acid to food that almost everyone eats.
There’s also a concern about a connection to autism. The brain has receptors, which pull folate from the blood into the brain. Studies have found that in over half of autistic children tested, the receptors appear blocked by the body’s own immune system, which means the brain is not getting the folate it needs. Researchers are now questioning whether folic acid is part of this. This hasn’t been confirmed but again, there’s enough research to mean this should be given some serious attention.
There are mixed results from studies looking at the risk of prostate cancer from taking folic acid supplements. For instance this study suggests a heightened risk of prostate cancer but there are others that found no link. More work definitely needs to be done but the fact it’s been raised as a concern is worth considering.
Folic acid binds to folate receptors in the brain significantly more strongly than folate. In fact cancer researchers use folic acid as a way of getting drugs into tumour cells. It’s possible this same binding strength reduces natural folate getting into the brain.
Folic acid has a much longer life than folate. That’s part of the reason it’s being added to flour rather than folate because the longer shelf life helps make it cheaper than adding folate. It’s also more stable through baking & cooking.
When you give folic acid to an entire population it’s very difficult to know what effect it’s having because there’s no one to compare to who isn’t taking it, which is exactly what’s happened in countries where folic acid was mandated like the US (1996) & Australia (2006).
It’s going to be in a lot more foods than just bread
Flour
Bread
Biscuits
Pizza
Fish fingers
Sausages
Quiche
Ready meals (flour used as a thickener)
Soup (flour used as a thickener)
Gravy granules
Cereals (Weetabix, Corn Flakes, Shreddies have been adding folic acid for years)
NB There’s many more foods than on this list but it’s to give you an idea of how widespread the folic acid rollout is going to be.
What dose of folic acid is problematic?
The recommendation is to stay within 1mg per day. If you were to start your day with a bowl of cereal like Special K, a sandwich at lunch & sausages in the evening you’d still be within the Government’s recommended limit. But if you’re taking a 400µg folic acid supplement it would definitely be possible to hit or go over the limit. Note that the NHS recommends you take a 400µg supplement in the lead up to pregnancy & for the first 12 weeks after pregnancy.
How to avoid folic acid after the UK flour mandate
Avoid eating the foods listed above & look for products made from wholemeal flour, gluten-free products & products made from other flour types such as spelt. Foods in packaging will be easy to check as folic acid must be declared in the ingredient list. However when you’re eating out, where ingredient lists are not easily available, it’ll be much harder to monitor.
Most EU members have not mandated the addition of folic acid. Selecting products that have been imported is an option but always check the label. Flour has to be fortified with folic acid before coming into the UK but pre-made products don’t need to be fortified so you’ll still be able to find imported biscuits without folic acid.
FAQs
Is folic acid the same as folate?
No. Folate is a natural vitamin found in whole foods. Folic acid is a synthetic version that your body has to convert before it can use it & not everyone can do that efficiently.
When will folic acid be added to flour in the UK?
The mandate comes into effect on 13th December 2026. Some producers are already adding it voluntarily.
How do I avoid folic acid in my food?
Choose 100% wholemeal flour products, gluten-free alternatives or products made from other flour types like spelt. Always check the ingredient label.
What to do with all this
Folic acid (vitamin B9) is going to be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour across the UK from the end of 2026, with the UK Government’s stated reason to reduce neural tube defects like Spina Bifida in children. Folic acid is not the same as naturally occurring folate & your body must process folic acid into folate, which not everyone can do efficiently.
The addition of folic acid is designed to help less than 0.6% of the population at any one time yet there’s serious questions around adding folic acid to your diet. If you’re eating a balanced diet you’re probably meeting your folate requirements already as it’s found naturally in plenty of foods like leafy greens, broccoli, nuts, seeds, avocado, banana & eggs. So additional folic acid is beyond what your body needs & that excess is where the questions start coming up. If you want to avoid folic acid after the mandate, stick to foods that don’t contain non-wholemeal wheat flour & always check the label.