California AB 1830 to Require Folic Acid in Corn, Masa Flour

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California Legislature Passes Bill Requiring Fortification of Corn Masa with Folic Acid

by: Food and Drug Law at Keller and Heckman of Keller and Heckman LLP - The Daily Intake

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

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The California legislature passed AB 1830, which is a bill that, if signed into law by Governor Newsom, would require that corn masa flour contain 0.7 mg of folic acid per pound of corn and that wet corn masa products contain 0.4 mg folic acid per pound of end product. The bill would also require that folic acid be declared on the nutrition label and that products declare that they contain corn masa flour or were manufactured through a wet corn masa manufacturing process.
Corn masa flour is defined as a “dry-type product made from corn that has been treated with slaked lime or otherwise undergoes a process known as nixtamalization” while wet corn masa product is defined as a “food manufactured by using an alkali solution with corn kernels to transform them into nixtamal.”
The bill exempts cottage food operations, food facilities (operations that provide food at the retail level), and grocery stores that offer for retail sale corn masa flour that does not contain folic acid so long as the grocery store also offers corn masa flour that meets the folic acid fortification requirements. Snack foods are also exempted.
Folic acid deficiency in pregnant women is a common cause of defects in the neural tube, an embryonic tissue which develops into the brain and spinal cord. The law is intended to reduce the incidence of such disorders, particularly among Latin Americans, many of whom consume corn masa as a dietary staple. Although FDA mandates folic acid in all enriched cereal grain products (see e.g., 21 CFR 137.165(a)), the addition of folic acid in corn masa flour is optional (21 CFR 172.345(i)), and the California law indicates that only 10% of corn masa flour products are fortified with folic acid.
If signed into law (as is expected), the provisions of the bill will be implemented starting on January 1, 2026.