End the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately
The Parliament petitions site records 114,748 signatures for this petition. The Government responded on 29 June 2026.
The petition
Created by Dr Clare Craig. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
End the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately
We call on the Government to stop the fortification of flour with synthetic folic acid. Folic acid is a medicine not a food. We believe it is unethical to mass medicate the entire population without their knowledge or consent in the hope that a minority group of people might see a benefit.
The NHS website lists sections of the population (including people with cancer, a stent or low vitamin B12 levels) who should avoid folic acid exposure because of possible detrimental health impacts. Even if these people are aware of the issue, it is becoming harder to avoid as wholemeal and gluten free products are voluntarily adding folic acid.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 29 June 2026; the petitions site lists the Department of Health and Social Care as responsible. Its summary:
Folic acid fortification is an evidenced public health measure, not a medical intervention. The policy applies to non-wholemeal flour, reflecting the flour-type already subject to fortification.
The opening 328 words of the 668-word response:
The UK Government is mandating fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid with the primary objective to increase folic acid intake among women of childbearing age, thereby improving blood folate levels and reducing the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) during pregnancy. The policy is projected to prevent around 200 NTD-affected pregnancies annually—approximately 20 per cent of UK cases. The population-level policy will have the wider benefit of increasing the intake of folic acid and improving folate status across the whole population. Folate, including folic acid, plays an important role in forming healthy red blood cells and maintaining brain health.
Previous efforts through public health campaigns to promote supplementation, as well as voluntary fortification by manufacturers, have had limited success. Despite longstanding UK public health advice recommending a daily supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid before conception and during early pregnancy, uptake remains suboptimal, particularly among younger women and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Since almost half of pregnancies in the UK are unplanned, many women may not take supplements during the critical early weeks of gestation.
The policy has been carefully designed to be proportionate, targeting non-wholemeal wheat flour because it is widely consumed across the population and is the most effective vehicle for delivering the intended public health benefits. This approach is consistent with long-standing UK fortification requirements for wheat flour, including the mandatory addition of calcium, iron, niacin and thiamine, which also apply to non-wholemeal wheat flour produced to organic standards. 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. This includes wholemeal flour, gluten-free products and other flour types such as soya or spelt flour.
To ensure people can easily identify products that are suitable for them, added vitamins and minerals, including folic acid, must be labelled in the product’s ingredients list. This must also be declared when fortified flour is used as an ingredient.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Glastonbury and Somerton, with 4.7 signatures per 1,000 electors (347 in all).
113,604 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,144 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glastonbury and Somerton | 347 | 73,268 | 4.7 |
| Torridge and Tavistock | 354 | 74,727 | 4.7 |
| St Ives | 316 | 69,978 | 4.5 |
| North Cornwall | 341 | 76,741 | 4.4 |
| Caerfyrddin | 312 | 74,005 | 4.2 |
| Isle of Wight East | 236 | 55,855 | 4.2 |
| South East Cornwall | 297 | 72,654 | 4.1 |
| Ceredigion Preseli | 304 | 75,690 | 4.0 |
| South West Norfolk | 297 | 74,724 | 4.0 |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | 288 | 74,627 | 3.9 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 16,999 |
| North West | 13,484 |
| South West | 12,658 |
| East of England | 11,565 |
| Scotland | 10,251 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 9,096 |
| West Midlands | 8,845 |
| East Midlands | 8,317 |
| London | 7,784 |
| Wales | 6,204 |
| North East | 4,869 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,766 |
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/769589.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
8f0114bf71e1e947… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.