[Folic acid should not be added automatically to bread].

The Health Council of the Netherlands recommends fortifying bread with folic acid to ensure that women have a basic level of folic acid intake around the time of conception in order to prevent neonatal neural tube defects. This advice should not be followed because Dutch children who already have adequate intake may easily be overdosed. Sixteen million people will be subjected to lifelong folic acid intake to prevent neural tube defects in 30 of the 200,000 babies born each year. A long-term investment in education and care targeting immigrant women is a much more effective and efficient alternative.