The UK Government is currently considering whether or not flour should be fortified with folic acid. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommends that food manufacturers wait until this final decision has been made and do not recommend proactively fortifying flour.
Folic acid is a B vitamin. Like most vitamins, it cannot be made in the body, so it must be obtained from foods or in the form of supplements. All women who are of child bearing age should be taking 400μg folic acid each day. Taking this amount of folic acid each day before becoming pregnant and during the early stages of pregnancy can help reduce the risk of your baby developing a Neural Tube Defect (NTD) – a major group of birth defects that occur when the brain, spinal cord or the covering of these organs has not developed properly
Eating foods high in folate (the natural form of folic acid) such as some fruits, green leafy vegetables (such as broccoli), dried beans and legumes can help to increase intakes. As folate can be lost during cooking though it can be difficult to get enough from the diet and so taking a folic acid supplement or a multi-vitamin that provides folic acid may be worthwhile.
