A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that the number of women of childbearing age who have low blood folate levels has plunged following a 1998 federal mandate to enrich bread and grains with added folate.
The rate of low blood folate among women has fallen from 21% in 1988-1994 (before the fortification program) to less than 1% in 2003-2004, six years after fortification began.