FDA Amends Food Additive Regulations to Provide for Safe Use of Folic Acid in Corn Masa Flour

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved folic acid
fortification of corn masa flour in response to a 2012 petition from the
March of Dimes Foundation, National Council of La Raza and other
groups. FDA’s action allows manufacturers to voluntarily add up to 0.7
milligrams of folic acid per pound of corn masa flour.

Used in tortillas, tamales and other foods, corn masa flour is a dietary
staple for many people of Mexican and Central American descent, and
the petitioners sought the voluntary fortification to increase the folic acid
intake for U.S. women of childbearing age who regularly consume such
products. Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin linked to the
decreased incidence of neural tube defects. See Federal Register, April
15, 2016.