The Food Regulation Ministerial Council was due to make its final decision on a recommendation by the food safety body FSANZ that folic acid should be added to bread to reduce the number of birth defects in newborn babies.
But in a joint communiqué yesterday, ministers from both countries said that the food standards body would give the proposal further review and report back to the council in six months time."Food Standards Australia New Zealand have been asked to review the proposed standard due to technical considerations with the implementation of the standard, and compliance issues," said the statement.
Folic acid has been proven to reduce the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida, which affect about 75 babies born each year in New Zealand.
However the proposal has been strongly opposed by both large bakers and smaller firms, especially organic bakeries. The baking industry claims the proposal ignores both up-to-date information on women's current diets as well as adequate knowledge of the risks to others in the population from consuming more folic acid.
There is some evidence to show that folic acid could mask deficiency of other B vitamins in the elderly and there are also fears of the effects of large amounts of folic acid in young children.
Meanwhile organic bakers say that they cannot add a synthetic vitamin to their products that are by definition free of all additives.
A range of industry representatives have therefore lobbied against the fortification proposal. The food regulation council confirmed however that all members at the Sydney meeting reinforced their commitment to the folic acid plan.