Tag: Folic acid in rice

According to the CDC, since the FDA mandated folic acid fortification of enriched grains in 1998, the incidence of neural tube defects has significantly decreased. This raises a common question: does rice have folic acid? The answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no and depends heavily on whether the rice has been fortified or not.

Over 80 countries worldwide have mandated the fortification of rice or wheat flour with folic acid to combat widespread folate deficiencies. While white basmati rice is often enriched with added folic acid during processing, brown basmati rice contains naturally occurring folate, though in lower concentrations.