Fortified or homemade? Understanding the folic acid in your bread can help you make informed choices.
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Bread has been a basic food item for centuries yet most consumers remain unaware that commercial bread products contain synthetic folic acid, which is a human-made version of vitamin B9, added for public health purposes to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs) such as spina bifida. In the UK, non-wholemeal wheat flour will be fortified with synthetic folic acid starting at the end of 2026, though wholemeal flour isn’t included. The addition of synthetic folic acid has raised new concerns about its safety as synthetic folic acid may not behave in the same way natural folates do.
The human body processes synthetic folic acid differently than the natural folate found in leafy greens and whole grains and legumes. The liver needs to process synthetic folic acid before it can become active but some individuals lack the ability to metabolize it, which results in folic acid accumulation in their bloodstream (CDC, 2025). Research published in Nutrients (Pereira et al., 2022) found that people who consumed large amounts of folic-acid-enriched foods experienced elevated DNA damage and decreased DNA repair activity. The study noted that excessive folic acid consumption through supplements produces adverse effects, this does not apply to fortified foods but it shows that higher amounts do not always lead to better results (Stevens et al., 2012).
People who want to avoid additives can make their own bread using organic unfortified flour or wholegrain and stone-ground flours to obtain natural folate content while taking back control of their food choices. People who understand the benefits of folic acid fortification can use this knowledge to make decisions about their health while understanding the intent of public health policies .
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/about/safety.html
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/3944
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22240654/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/birth-defects-prevented-by-fortifying-flour-with-folic-acid
