María Elvira Salazar: “Folic acid is an essential ``B vitamin'' that plays a critical role in the body's natural processes for making new cells…”

“Folic acid is an essential ``B vitamin'' that plays a critical role in the body's natural processes for making new cells throughout the body. As the Labor/HHS appropriations committee has indicated in its committee report, folic acid fortification can play a critical role in reducing the incidences of serious birth defects, such as spina bifida. In that regard, according to research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, since the implementation of the FDA's policies governing folic acid fortification in enriched cereal grain products, the prevalence of spina bifida and other neural tube defects has declined approximately 20 to 30 percent. While this represents significant progress in the prevention of birth defects, the decline falls short of the national policy objective to achieve a 50 percent reduction by 2010. It also falls short of the 50 percent to 70 percent reduction in birth defects that the Public Health Service has estimated would result if all U.S. women of childbearing age consumed the recommended amount of folic acid daily.”