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Folic acid, which has been proven to prevent serious birth defects, is set to be added to bread.
The announcement was made Thursday morning. This is about protecting babies, said Food Safety Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall. Low folate levels in mothers cause neural tube defects that result in the death of babies, or lifelong disability.
Folic acid, a B vitamin also known as folate, was set to be added to bread in 2009 under a joint Australia-New Zealand plan negotiated by the previous Labour-led Government, but it was scrapped by National.
Tallan, who will turn 3 in March, had been doing well and achieving milestones despite a regular check-up finding he also had another heart defect called PAPVD. Tallan’s mum, Darcy Williams, said in late 2020 she started noticing Tallan was more tired than usual and a bit cranky. It was found that a valve in the toddler’s heart – that had been repaired during his first surgery – was leaking.
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Darcy Williams said Tallan’s recovery has been fantastic following his second open heart surgery. Williams said the leak went from mild to moderate to severe – meaning surgery was needed as it was causing his left ventricle to swell.