The case for fortified flour.

In presenting the case for fortified flour I have purposely tried to avoid argument and to deal with established facts. I must, however, recall the strong preference of the public for white bread as against even the slightly darker bread made from 80% extraction flour. I can, of course, give, and on other occasions have given, proof of it, but I am assuming that it is accepted by this Society, even if some members deplore the fact. Of course, it is only because the public, if given a chance, will not eat bread darker than that made from what is commonly called white flour that the question of fortification has arisen. We know and all agree that low levels of thiamine, nicotinic acid, iron and calcium can be easily corrected by enrichment or fortification, but what remains in doubt to some is whether as a result other components of the B complex or some other important nutrient factor may be absent from the diet, if bread made from fortified white flour is consumed as opposed to darker bread made from flour of 80% or 85% extfaction. The respective merits of bread made from long-extraction flour and of bread made from white flour enriched with certain addenda such as synthetic thiamine, nicotinic acid and with iron and creta praeparata has already been thrashed out by what is called the Cohen Committee (Great Britain. Parliament, 1956), who had the benefit of hearing expert evidence from those favouring the one view and those who gave their reasons for preferring the other view. With such a full inquiry, there seems little point in a polemic discussion on the matter. All I am asked to do is to restate the case for the fortification of white flour, but at least I will be allowed to point out that I have already given this Society a paper on this very subject entitled Enrichment (KentJones, 1946). In that paper I reviewed no less than 1 1 years ago the position as we then understood it and I find little to add or to change. The crux of the matter is whether the population eating, in its normal mixed diet, bread made from fortified or enriched white flour, as against bread from longer-extraction flour, will suffer any defect or consume less of any nutrient factor so that its health or well-being is affected. One point might be borne in mind. There is, of course, destruction of certain nutrients in cooking and baking. I n this paper I have only considered bread, but only about 65% of the total flour manufactured is used for the production of bread. Some 35% of the flour production is utilized in the making of cakes, biscuits, homecooking, and so on. In some of these instances the rate of destruction of thiamine, for example, may be different from that which occurs in ordinary yeast fermentation and bread baking. Much will depend on the p H of the goods at the time of the baking or cooking. T h e point may not be serious but it is one that should be remembered.