Map Shows All States Considering Major Change To Tortillas

A number of states are considering legislation requiring food makers to add folic acid to corn masa flour used to make tortillas in a bid to tackle child health defects. California became the first state in January to require manufacturers to add folic acid, a key vitamin for infant health. A deficiency of the acid can lead to serious conditions called neural tube defects, including spina bifida and anencephaly, which impact the brain and spinal cord.

A similar law is set to be implemented in Alabama in June, and legislation is being considered or pending in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Oregon. Why It Matters In 1998, the U.S. required food manufactures to add folic acid to many grain products, including staple foods such as certain breads, flours, rice, corn meal and cereals.

However, the requirement did not include masa flour, which is used to make many food products from Latin America, including tortillas, tamales, pupusas and empanadas. Research shows that the 1998 requirements cut rates of serious birth defeats by around 30 percent or 1,300 cases per year, according to The Associated Press.

However, rates of these conditions have remained disproportionately higher among Hispanic infants. A report from the California Department of Public Health showed that between 2017 and 2019, only 28 percent of Latinos reported taking folic acid the month before becoming pregnant, in comparison to 46.5 percent of white women and 48.9 percent of Asian/Pacific Islanders. The department said that 70 percent of neural tube birth defects can been avoided if sufficient folic acid is taken prior to conception.

What To Know California's Assembly Bill 1830 requires manufacturers to fortify corn masa flour with 0.7 milligrams of folic acid to every pound of flour and to state the addition in the nutrition labels on food products. Alabama's House Bill 384 also requires manufacturers to add 0.7 milligrams of folic acid to every pound of corn masa flour, and 0.4 milligrams per pound in corn masa products. The law is set to come into force on June 1.

Legislation also is pending or being considered in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Oregon, according to the AP.

Meanwhile, four other states—Texas, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania—have expressed "active interest" in the issue, according to advocacy group Food Fortification Initiative. What People Are Saying Joaquin Arambula, a California assembly member who sponsored the state's bill, told the AP: "

You have to be the first oftentimes to get the ball rolling. So, I'm glad other states have taken up that mantle." Jim Kabbani, head of the Tortilla Industry Association, said: "I think overall the train has left the station and it will be more and more states." Vijaya Kancherla, associated professor of epidemiology at Emory University, told the AP: ”

The science is clear: folic acid fortification works. It's safe. It's proven. And it's cost-effective." Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote on X in December: ”

This is insanity. California is waging war against her children- targeting the poor and communities of color." In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it's not "both sides," it's sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.

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