Food Additives Permitted for Direct Addition to Food for Human Consumption; Folic Acid (Folacin)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of folic acid in foods that are the subject of a standard of identity that requires the addition of folic acid; to provide for its addition to breakfast cereals on a per serving basis; to permit its use in infant formulas, medical foods, and foods for special dietary use; and to incorporate specifications for folic acid consistent with those in the Food Chemicals Codex. This action is being taken to ensure that the amount of folic acid that all segments of the population are reasonably expected to consume is safe under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (the act) and to implement Public Health Service's (PHS) recommendation to increase folic acid intake by women of childbearing age, thereby reducing the risk of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects (NTD's).