Tacos sold in California on New Year’s Day will need to have an extra ingredient

KANIKA SINGH RATHORE,

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A new California law will require Manufacturer adds additional ingredients All tacos in the New Year.

start January 1manufacturers of masa flour products will be required to add folic acid to the mix to increase consumption by Latino pregnant women.

Folic acid is a vitamin Very important to baby’s health, Studies show it can reduce birth defects in the spine and brain by up to 70%.

In California, Latina women are the least likely to consume folic acid early in pregnancy. Between 2017 and 2019, the most recent year folic acid was introduced, only 28% of Latino respondents reported taking folic acid in the month before pregnancy, according to state data.

The California Department of Public Health reports that among white women, 46 percent take folic acid to help with pregnancy.

Starting January 1, manufacturers of products made with masa powder will be required to add folic acid to the mix in an effort to increase intake among Latina pregnant women

Starting January 1, manufacturers of products made with masa powder will be required to add folic acid to the mix in an effort to increase intake among Latina pregnant women (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. all rights reserved.)

Public health officials have long recommended adding folic acid to staple foods because some women don’t find out they’re pregnant until weeks later.

Previous legislation in 1998 required U.S. manufacturers to add folic acid to grain products such as pasta, rice and cereal to help women meet recommended intakes. As a result, the rate of babies born with birth defects dropped by about one-third, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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However, Latinos continue to have higher rates of birth defects, leading lawmakers to consider adding more culturally appropriate ingredients to foods.

In 2016, the government allowed the addition of folic acid to corn masa, but it is not required by law.

Birth defect rates continue to rise among Latinos, leading lawmakers to consider adding more culturally appropriate additives to foods. In 2016, the government allowed the addition of folic acid to corn masa, but it is not required by law

Birth defect rates continue to rise among Latinos, leading lawmakers to consider adding more culturally appropriate additives to foods. In 2016, the government allowed the addition of folic acid to corn masa, but it is not required by law (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. all rights reserved.)

Now, new California law, AB 1830The article titled “Corn masa flour and wet corn masa products: Folic acid fortification” will change that.

“This bill would require, beginning January 1, 2026, that corn masa flour that is manufactured, sold, delivered, distributed, held for sale, or used as an ingredient in the manufacture of food have a folic acid content of 0.7 milligrams per pound of corn masa flour,” the bill states.

“[And it] Wet corn masa products that will be authorized to be manufactured, sold, delivered, distributed, held, offered for sale, or used as an ingredient in the manufacture of food products shall have a folic acid content of 0.4 milligrams of folic acid per pound of final product (as specified).

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