
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 9, 1993                   TAG: 9310090060
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

FDA PROPOSES ADDING FOLIC ACID TO PREVENT DEFECTS

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed requiring that folic acid, a B-vitamin, be added to enriched flour, bread, pasta, cereals and other grain products to reduce the risk of severe birth defects.

Some 2,500 babies are born in the United States each year with spina bifida or anencephaly, two defects of the neural tube.

Scientists believe almost half those cases could be prevented if mothers consumed 0.4 milligrams a day of folic acid, a vitamin that occurs naturally in citrus fruits, spinach and other dark-green, leafy vegetables.

Some cereals already have folic acid added. The new FDA proposal, which was unveiled Friday, would guide manufacturers on how much is safe to add to breads, rice, pasta and other grains.

Too much folic acid can be a problem because it can mask the symptoms of pernicious anemia, caused by a deficiency of vitamin B-12.

by CNB