Re: U.S. Gov.'t Bans Vegemite?

[Nick FitzGerald <nick () virus-l demon co uk>]

The Dude to me:

> > Marmite lists folate as one of the ingredients, so presumably Marmite
> > is also considered to have illegally-added folate under the US's weird
> > "folate laws".
> >
> > Given folate's generally accepted importance in preventing many severe,
> > and less severe, fetal neurological malformations, you'd think it would
> > be welcome in the US diet pretty much regardless of its source...
>
> The Institute of Medicine has established a tolerable upper intake
> level (UL) for folate from fortified foods or supplements (i.e. folic
> acid) for ages one and above. Intakes above this level increase the
> risk of adverse health effects. In adults, supplemental folic acid
> should not exceed the UL to prevent folic acid from triggering
> symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency [10]. It is important to recognize
> that the UL refers to the amount of synthetic folate (i.e. folic acid)
> being consumed per day from fortified foods and/or supplements. There
> is no health risk, and no UL, for natural sources of folate found in
> food. Table 4 lists the Upper Intake Levels (UL) for folate, in
> micrograms (g), for children and adults.
>
> Table 4: Tolerable Upper Intake Levels for Folate for Children and Adults [10]
> Age
> (years)       Males and Females
> (g/day)       Pregnancy
> (g/day)       Lactation
> (g/day)
> 1-3   300     N/A     N/A
> 4-8   400     N/A     N/A
> 9-13  600     N/A     N/A
> 14-18 800     800     800
> 19 +  1000    1000    1000
> -------------------------------

I only have a jar of Marmite handy (I prefer it to Vegemite) and they 
list 100g of folate per 5g serving.  5g of Marmite strikes me as quite 
a lot -- probably more than I'd typically put on a slice of toast or 
have with a cheese sandwich and I don't regularly or habitually use 
it...

> is folate natural or added in (vege/mar)mite?

I thought it was a natural component but they list it as an ingredient, 
suggesting that (at least some of) it is not naturally occurring in the 
yeast extract and other ingredients.  That said, they list it as folate 
rather than folic acid, so????


Regards,

Nick FitzGerald


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