California Leads Charge: Fortifying Tortillas to Prevent Birth Defects

Fifteen years after a personal tragedy, Andrea Lopez sees a crucial public health victory in California's new law. As of January 2026, the state mandates that food makers add folic acid to corn masa flour, a staple in many Latina households. This initiative aims to drastically reduce neural tube defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, which disproportionately affect Hispanic infants.

For nearly three decades, folic acid has been added to other grain products, significantly cutting birth defect rates nationwide. However, corn masa was previously excluded, leaving a gap that led to persistently high defect rates in the Hispanic community. Federal regulators allowed voluntary fortification in 2016, but uptake was slow.

California's legislative action, spearheaded by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, uses the state's significant purchasing power to drive change. Major manufacturers like Gruma Corp. and Mission Foods have already begun fortifying their products, with nearly all retail sales of corn masa flour now including folic acid. This industry shift is paving the way for smaller businesses to follow suit.

Despite widespread expert support, some, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have criticized the mandate as government overreach. However, medical professionals and organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasize that folic acid is safe, effective, and critical for preventing birth defects, particularly as neural tube defects occur very early in pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant.