Flour for bread to be enriched with iron and folic acid

The wheat flour used in food industry will be enriched with iron and folic acid. The measure forms part of the national program on the reduction of diseases caused by iron and folic acid deficiency for 2012-2017, approved by the Government, Info-Prim Neo reports. 30 mg of iron and 1.4 mg of folic acid will be added to one kilogram of flour. The costs were estimated at 7.7 lei. The import of measuring devices for enriching the flour with iron and folic acid will be exempted from taxes. The pregnant women will be supplied with folic acid and iron preparations free of charge. Minister of Health Andrei Usatyi said the iron deficiency leads to congenital malformations that cause the death of newborns. Under the program, the cases of iron-deficiency anemia among pregnant women and children under five will be reduced by 30% and among the other groups of people by 20% until 2017. The deficiency of iron and folic acid affects not only the people’s health, but also the national economy. The earnings that fail to be collected following the low cognitive and work capacity caused by anemia represent 0.9% of the GDP. The program will be implemented at a cost of 101.5 million lei, which will be covered from the budget and resources provided by foreign donors. The Government instituted a council for coordinating the implementation of the program, which will be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Moldovanu.