Bakers praise Congressional leadership for protecting women’s and infants’ health in 2015 Dietary Guidelines
In a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) and 58 other members of Congress called on USDA and HHS to clarify the importance of folic-acid-enriched grains in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans set to be finalized this fall.
In February, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee released its report, which mistakenly included enriched grains in the refined grains category and urged a reduction of consumption. Folic acid fortification of enriched grains has led to a 36 percent reduction of neural tube defects since 1998, a success that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention touts as one of the top 10 health achievements of the decade.