Folic acid in flour. Why it’s being added and is it safe?

Why is folic acid being added to UK flour? We look at its benefits, the vitamin B12 and cancer claims, and what the evidence says about safety.

If you’ve heard that folic acid is being added to flour and wondered what that means for your morning toast, you’re in good company. 

It’s fair to ask why a vitamin is being added to a food eaten by millions of people. The answer starts with what happens in the first few weeks of pregnancy.

What is folic acid?

Folate is vitamin B9. You’ll find it naturally in spinach, broccoli, peas and chickpeas. Folic acid is the manufactured form used in supplements and fortified foods, including some breakfast cereals. Your body needs folate to make healthy red blood cells, and too little can lead to folate deficiency anaemia. 

Why add it to flour?

Taking folic acid before conception and in early pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. 

The neural tube, which develops into the brain and spinal cord, forms very early, often before someone knows they’re pregnant. Adding folic acid to a staple food helps reach people during those crucial weeks. 

The Food Standards Agency estimates that fortification could cut UK rates of neural tube defects by around 20%. food.gov.uk

From 13 December 2026, UK rules require 250 micrograms of folic acid per 100g of most non-wholemeal common wheat flour. Wholemeal flour is exempt. The NHS still advises taking 400 micrograms daily when trying for a baby, ideally starting three months before conception, and continuing through the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Some people are prescribed a higher dose. GOV.UK

What about the safety claims?

Can it hide a vitamin B12 deficiency? High doses can correct the anaemia caused by B12 deficiency while the underlying deficiency goes untreated and can still damage nerves. The NHS warns doses above 1 milligram (1,000 micrograms) can mask symptoms. UK scientific advisers found after US fortification, there was no increase in the prevalence of B12 deficiency with or without anaemia.

Does it cause cancer? An analysis of trials involving nearly 50,000 people found no statistically significant increase in overall cancer rates over about five years. The trials generally used doses higher than those supplied by fortification. That finding is reassuring for the period studied. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

What if I have an MTHFR gene variant? People with common MTHFR variants can still process folic acid, and the recommended dose raises blood folate levels.

The evidence supports the amount being added to flour. If you already take several supplements, it’s worth checking the labels, as a multivitamin and a separate B-vitamin tablet can both contain folic acid. 

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You Can Stock Draught Non-Alcoholic Beers For Your Venue. Here's How

How pubs, hotels and cafés can serve draught alcohol-free beer alongside their regular range, from dedicated keg taps to gravity-fed pins on the bar.

When a round comes to the table, why should the person who’s driving be the only one who couldn’t order a pint from the tap? 

Pubs, hotels and licensed cafés can give customers that choice by putting a no- or low-alcohol beer alongside their usual lager, bitter and stout.

Start with one draught beer

A crisp lager is a sensible first choice for a hotel bar or a café that does a busy lunch trade. A pub with a following for hoppy beers might try a pale ale. Lucky Saint’s 0.5% lager is available on draught, and Welsh brewer Drop Bear has offered its New World Lager, Yuzu Pale Ale and Tropical IPA in kegs. Ask your wholesaler what’s available locally, which keg sizes they can supply and how quickly the beer needs to sell once connected.

Could you put a pin on the bar?

Yes, if your brewer can supply a beer made for cask dispense and confirm how to keep and serve it. A pin is a small cask holding 4½ imperial gallons, or 36 pints before losses. A firkin holds twice as much. With a secure cradle, a suitable tap and temperature control, you can pour straight from the cask by gravity. That makes a pin an interesting option for a beer festival, a wedding or a busy weekend where you can judge demand in advance.

There’s a precedent. Big Drop took a 0.5% cask version of its Paradiso Citra IPA to the London Craft Beer Festival in 2022. That was a festival special, so ask your brewer what they can supply today. Before ordering, get their instructions on cooling, tapping and how long the beer can be served once opened. Even a pin is a lot of beer if you only sell a few halves a day.

Make it easy to order and easy to get right

For keg beer, ask your supplier or dispense installer about a dedicated, clearly marked line and the cleaning and cooling regime it needs. Give the beer a visible tap badge, list the exact ABV and price on the menu, and make sure staff know which glass is which when they bring over a mixed round. A guest asking for 0.0% should be able to see at a glance whether that’s what you’re serving.

Offer halves as well as pints, and see how the first keg or pin sells. The simplest test is whether customers come back and order it again.

https://bigdropbrew.com

http://www.dropbearbeers.com

https://luckysaint.co

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Bunta Beer launches glass bottles at The Pem

Bunta Beer has launched its first glass bottles, giving the independent Indian-inspired beer brand a new way to reach premium restaurants and bars.

The 330ml bottles made their exclusive debut at The Pem, chef Romy Gill MBE’s restaurant at the five-star Conrad London St. James. 

The launch marks a fresh step for Bunta as it looks to become part of more modern dining experiences.

Founded in 2025 by New Delhi-born entrepreneur Gunikka Ahuja, Bunta was created to complement Indian food. Its flagship lager has a light, crisp character, with citrus notes from orange peel and subtle coriander from coriander seed. At 0.5% ABV, it offers a lower-alcohol option, and is also gluten-free and vegan.

The beer itself hasn't changed. Instead, the new bottle format is designed to give it a more considered presentation at the table, where drinks can be given as much attention as the food. Ahuja hopes bottles will eventually account for half of the business.

Bunta now has over 100 listings across the UK, including restaurants, pubs, hospitality venues and specialist retailers. Distribution is supported by Champers Drinks.

Gill first discovered Bunta at a Diwali event last year. She says supporting smaller producers is important to her, particularly as she built her own career without established industry connections. She felt the beer was a natural match for The Pem’s contemporary Indian cooking.

The two women share Sikh heritage and a love of food, family and bringing people together around the table. When the opportunity arose to launch Bunta at the restaurant, Ahuja fast-tracked production of the glass bottles so they would be ready for the debut.

The bottle artwork features Ahuja’s brother, who also appears on the original can design. This time, he is shown relaxing with a beer after work.

For Ahuja, the new format is about making sure choosing a lower-alcohol drink does not mean compromising on flavour or the dining experience. The launch at The Pem is a first step in her plans to take Bunta beyond the traditional curry house and into more premium settings.

Restaurants, hotels, bars and other hospitality businesses can enquire about stocking the bottles through Bunta Beer or Champers Wholesale.

http://www.buntabeer.com

https://champerswholesale.com

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Four Bakery Trends to Watch in 2027

Smaller portions, simpler ingredients and familiar flavours could shape the bakery aisle in 2027, according to the innovation team at We Love Cake.

The free-from bakery brand is made by Cumbrian family baker Bells of Lazonby. 

Its team has identified four trends that are influencing its plans for future products.

Danny Parsons, Senior Concept Developer at Bells of Lazonby, told That's Food and Drink thats people still want cake, but their expectations around how and when they eat it are changing. 

The challenge, he said, is to respond to those changes while keeping the enjoyment of cake at the heart of the experience.

1. Smaller portions for changing appetites

The growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss medicines could influence how some households buy cake. If one person wants a smaller portion or eats cake less often, a large cake for sharing may be less practical.

We Love Cake believes this could increase interest in individual slices and single-serve formats. These give people more control over portion size, while making it easier to enjoy a treat without buying a whole cake.

The idea is not to take the indulgence out of cake. With smaller portions, flavour, texture and quality may matter even more.

2. More attention to ingredients

Shoppers are paying closer attention to what goes into their food, bringing cleaner labels and recipe choices higher up the development agenda.

For free-from baking, this can be technically challenging. Ingredients often play an important role in recreating the taste and texture usually provided by gluten. The aim is to make meaningful changes without compromising quality, consistency or shelf life.

Ingredient sourcing, processing and sustainability are also becoming part of how consumers assess a product.

3. Childhood flavours return

While health considerations may shape some product choices, familiar flavours can offer comfort and an easier decision in a crowded bakery aisle.

Rhubarb and custard, birthday cake, Angel Delight-inspired flavours, traditional puddings and sweet-shop favourites are among the ideas We Love Cake expects to see influence new products.

The opportunity is to refresh these much-loved flavours for today’s shoppers, rather than simply reproduce a retro product.

4. Free-from goes mainstream

Free-from bakery is increasingly expected to match conventional products for taste, texture and quality. The next step, We Love Cake believes, is making it available in more everyday settings.

Food-to-go, convenience stores and food service could all provide opportunities to reach consumers beyond the dedicated free-from fixture. Individually portioned cake slices already offer a portable option for people looking for a convenient treat.

Together, these trends point towards smaller portions, more considered recipes and familiar flavours in new formats. Parsons describes the direction as “less, but better” cake that evolves with consumers while keeping the pleasure of eating it.

https://bellsoflazonby.co.uk

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