Mandatory Fortification of Bread with Folic Acid
te-pati-maori
Tue Oct 12 2010 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Mandatory Fortification of Bread with Folic Acid
Tuesday, 12 October 2010, 5:36 pm
Speech: The Maori Party
Member’s Notice of Motion No 1 regarding the disallowance of the New Zealand (Mandatory Fortification of Bread with Folic Acid) Amendment Food Standard 2009
Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga
Tuesday 12 October 2010
Today, our caucus, held a baby shower for one of our staff expecting their first child in less than a month’s time. We have another staff member due to give birth to her second child in February; we have another staff member who delights us all by occasionally bringing her five month old wonder, Kori-Lee, into our offices
I am not laying down these facts as a parliamentary challenge as to see which party has the most fertile offices….but more to remind ourselves how absolutely blessed we are with the arrival of any new baby when that baby comes into our lives.
I would hasten to suggest that if one was to ask any of the members in our party what featured amongst their most significant moments in life, it would be the birth of their children.
And so we come to this debate, absolutely clear about the wonder of whakapapa; the miracle of conception and the joy of welcoming a newborn into our midst.
We understand that the proposal to establish mandatory fortification of bread with folic acids comes from much the same thinking – investing in folate as an incentive to protect and preserve the health and wellbeing women who are in the early stages of pregnancy, and their developing baby.
We recognise that motivation in the notice of motion put forward by Moana Mackey, and I want to place on record, the complexity associated with this issue, and the considerable thought it has provoked.
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The Maori Party supports any moves that can be take to encourage pregnant women to either take, or abstain, from whatever substances will assist in protecting the unborn child – whether that be folic acid – the synthetic form of folate; natural folate as in leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, wholegrain bread or yeast; - or indeed to be smokefree.
But we note the views of Consumer New Zealand that in their view mandatory fortification would not fully address the health issue as there would still be the need to promote a diet high in folate-rich foods, and women planning a pregnancy would still need to take a folic acid supplement.
It was their suggestion – reiterated by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority that pregnant women should increase the folate in their diet by eating fruit and vegetables and wholegrain breads and cereals. The Authority also confirmed that folic acid as a supplement is readily available and affordable and is sold over the counter as a medicine at pharmacies.
But it was another statement from Consumer New Zealand that raised the antennae for us, and that was their concern at the move to mandatory fortification because it might result in limited consumer choice, and nutrient imbalances and excesses in children and the elderly.
Consumer New Zealand supported the suspension of plans to compel bakers to add folic acid to bread – but emphasized instead that the Government should publicly fund an awareness campaign stressing the importance of folate supplements.
And I have to say that this is where the Maori Party would state our preference.
There appear to be a number of issues which our members have found hard to resolve. I want to share some of these questions to let the House into our discussions around this issue?
If the target is pregnant women and unborn babies, what will be the impacts for all other sectors of the population from increased levels of folate?
What is the reliability of information suggested that folic acid fortification is associated in time with an additional risk of colon cancer?
We have come across some studies in the US, in Canada and Chile which would suggest there is a causal relationship, albeit a weak one, between folate enrichment and colorectal cancer – the point for us, however, is that it does raise the question.
As lawmakers we must debate the ethics and morality beyond every issue that comes before this House. We can not afford to look at the issue without considering all the impacts and implications for people.
We appreciate the view of Dieticians New Zealand who do not support mandatory fortification with folate acid at the moment until more research is done. They recommended that further good quality baseline data should be collected prior to major fortification to determine the benefits or potential harm for a population wide intervention.
They also argued that the mandatory fortification programme in America has actually reduced the amount of pregnant women taking the folic acid supplements that are still needed to ensure sufficient amounts are reached during pregnancy.
We have heard very clearly that Folate has been proven to prevent neural tube defects; and that as a consequence the Ministry of Health has recommended that extra folate is crucial a month before conception and 12 weeks after conception.
We have also heard that approximately one/third of women do actually consume the recommended amount.
There are some real concerns for us around unplanned pregnancies – or women who simply don’t realise they are pregnant until well after the time they have started taking the supplement. As New Zealand has high rates of youth pregnancies – this group is at high risk as they may be both low in iron and folate.
During the course of our research we contacted Te Hotu Manawa Maori who raised some of the issues specific to Maori in relation to this issue - the fact that so many of our women may have low iron, low baseline folate intake, potentially low vitamin C intake and if associated with oral contraceptives all will increase the risk of low serum folate levels and neural tube defects.
So the over-riding question for us is how can we assure this group that they will be aware and able to access the foods that are fortified?
What sort of information do we need to promote to this group the value of consuming green/ leafy vegetables such as asparagus, brocolli, spinach; or to increase their intake of mushrooms, potatoes, legumes and seeds.
How do we encourage this group to eat breads, cereals, and in some cases pasta or dairy products which will increase their folate intake?
We absolutely agree with Te Hotu Manawa that knowledge and education around the importance of folate for everyone and specifically women of child-bearing age is something that all of us can do – and we would particularly encourage the Minister of Health to look further at promoting this possibility.
Finally, I do want to raise a question about the way in which this Bill has been discussed with particular reference to the focus on the risk of having a child with spina bifida.
I want to share the views of Ruth Jones from Kanohi ki te Kanohi Ltd –: who has issued the challenge that the assumption is made by those without disabilities that people with spina bifida and related conditions are seriously disabled. I want to share some of her statements with the House as I believe they remind us of some of the issues we should consider.
I am aware that when we talk about “reducing these birth defects” we are actually talking about a distinct population group within the disability community and the assumption is made by those without disabilities that people with spina bifida and related condition are “seriously disabling”. …..
The conditions that are disabling are not the impairment but society’s response to us. Therefore mandatory fortification of bread for me means that again a whole population group gets ignored, misrepresented and marginalised.
Mr Speaker, there are so many issues associated with the proposal to introduce a synthetic form of folate into bread as a universal intervention to prevent folate deficiency.
For a start, it would be great to hear the Government reviewing my bill to take GST off healthy foods, to support a move to increase folate, an essential B vitamin, found naturally in leafy vegetables and citrus fruits.
We do believe that the vitamins and supplements that help to make pregnant women ready for baby, should be freely available for whanau in order to make good choices.
If we are serious about building capacity, and caring for future generations we need an approach which combines the provision of these supplements with an effective education campaign.
We do not support the Members Notice of Motion.
ENDS
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