The Tamesis
Corn tortillas are set to change in California in the new year, with a new law requiring manufacturers to add folic acid to masa products. The goal is to reduce birth defects in children born to Hispanic women.
Research shows that folic acid promotes new cell growth and can reduce birth defects by up to 70%.
In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a directive requiring that folic acid be added to certain fortified cereals, such as pasta and rice, but not to corn masa products.
Since then, the number of babies born to Latina women with neural tube defects in their brains and spinal cords has not decreased, which is why lawmakers are targeting tortillas.
“I was really shocked because we’ve been growing these tortillas for generations and never had any problems. We have healthy kids,” said Dora Sanz, owner of 3 Hermanas in east Sacramento.
The tortillas she serves her customers come from the manufacturer, but her family has been making tortillas from scratch for generations.
“So, do we really need to put these in tortillas?” Sands said.
Sana Jaffery is the legislative director for Fresno Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula and an author of the bill. She said fortifying a ton of corn masa costs just four pennies, but getting the same vitamins in supplements costs hundreds of dollars.
Jaffrey said lawmakers have briefly looked at how to make supplements more affordable, but that’s a separate issue.
“It’s not just Latinos who eat tortillas, but everyone around the world eats tortillas,” Sanz said.
Mom-and-pop stores will be unaffected by the change, but large manufacturers in California will be required to add folic acid to tortillas starting Jan. 1.
Mission Foods has been doing this for years.
