FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A new California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this year will require manufacturers of corn-based flour products like tortillas and tamales to add a new ingredient to their mix. A local tortilleria says they’re not opposed to the change.
AB1830 was authored by Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula with the idea that adding folic acid to corn masa product would help bring down birth defects in the Latino community.
In a statement to YourCentralValley.com, Arambula said in part, “We know that folic acid is vital in preventing birth defects, and food is the best way to get folic acid into diets. Such fortification has been federally required since 1998 in enriched cereal grain products, but it wasn’t made compulsory for corn masa flour and wet masa products. Data and research have since shown that this led to a disproportionate and higher risk of birth defects in the Latino community.”…