100,000 Britons Sign to Stop Folic Acid in Flour, Two Months Before It Becomes Law

From 13 December 2026, UK law requires every mill to add 0.25 milligrams of folic acid to each 100 grams of non-wholemeal wheat flour. On Thursday 8 October a parliamentary petition calling for an immediate end to the rule passed 100,000 signatures, which means the Petitions Committee will now consider it for a debate in Parliament.

Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe, MP for Great Yarmouth, who backed the petition, wrote on X that he will argue against the rule in Parliament:

“People should be able to buy ordinary bread without having unnecessary products forced in by the state.”

— Rupert Lowe MP on X

The petition was started by the pathologist Dr Clare Craig, who calls folic acid a medicine, not a food, and argues that it is wrong to treat the whole population in the hope that a minority will benefit. She points to NHS advice that people with cancer, a stent or low vitamin B12 should avoid folic acid, and says it is getting harder to do that as wholemeal and gluten-free products add it voluntarily.

The government’s case

In its reply of 29 June the Department of Health and Social Care said the policy is aimed at women of childbearing age. It is projected to prevent about 200 pregnancies a year affected by neural tube defects such as spina bifida, roughly 20 per cent of UK cases, and almost half of all pregnancies are unplanned, so a daily supplement often comes too late.

The department stressed that the rule is limited. It applies to non-wholemeal wheat flour, which is already fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamine, leaves wholemeal, gluten-free and other flours alone, exempts small mills and requires folic acid to be listed in the ingredients. Its answer to the petition sums up the dispute:

“Folic acid fortification is an evidenced public health measure, not a medical intervention.”

— UK Government (Department of Health and Social Care) response to the petition, 29 June 2026

Women trying to conceive are still told to take a 400 microgram supplement. A debate would not stop the rule on its own, since only the government or Parliament can change the regulations.