New California tortilla law aims to decrease birth defects in Latino babies

Changes are coming to tortillas in California in the new year, with a new law requiring manufacturers to add folic acid to corn masa products. The goal is to decrease birth defects in children born to Hispanic women. 

Research shows folic acid promotes new cell growth and can reduce birth defects by up to 70%. 

A 1998 U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandate required folic acid to be added to certain enriched grains, such as pasta and rice, but not to corn masa products.

Since then, Latina women have not seen any decrease in their babies being born with neural tube defects in their brains and spinal cords, which is why lawmakers are targeting tortillas.

“I really was in shock because we grow with these kinds of tortillas since generations, and we never have any problems. We have healthy kids,” said Dora Sanz, who is the owner of 3 Hermanas in east Sacramento.

The tortillas she is serving customers come from manufacturers, but her family has been making them from scratch for generations.

“So like, do we really need to put these in the tortillas?” said Sanz. 

Sana Jaffery is the legislative director for Fresno Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, who authored the bill. She said it costs four pennies to fortify a metric ton of corn masa, but hundreds of dollars for supplements where you get the same vitamins.

Jaffery said lawmakers have briefly looked into making supplements more affordable, but it is a separate issue. 

“It’s not only Latinos who eat tortillas, but everybody around the world also eats tortillas,” said Sanz.

Mom-and-pop shops will be exempt from this change, but big manufacturers in California will need to start adding folic acid to tortillas beginning January 1.

Mission Foods has already been doing this for years.