SACRAMENTO, California: California became the first state in January to require food makers to add folic acid, an important vitamin, to corn masa flour used for tortillas and other common foods.

The goal is to reduce high rates of serious birth defects, called neural tube defects, among Hispanic babies.

These conditions caused the death of Andrea Lopez's son, Gabriel, when he was just 10 days old. Fifteen years later, she finds comfort in knowing other Latina mothers may not face the same loss.

A similar law will take effect in Alabama in June, and other states, including Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Oregon, are considering it. States like Texas, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have also shown interest.

For nearly 30 years, folic acid has been added to foods like bread, cereals, and pasta in the U.S. This rule, introduced in 1998, reduced birth defects such as spina bifida by about 30% and prevented around 1,300 cases each year. It is seen as a major public health success.

However, corn masa flour, a key part of Latino diets, was not included in that rule. As a result, birth defect rates in that community have remained high. Although regulators allowed folic acid to be added to corn masa products in 2016, most products still did not include it by 2023.

Hispanic women continue to have the highest rates of these birth defects. In California, their rate is about twice as high as that of white or Black women.

The new California law, along with pressure from health groups, is already pushing companies to act. Gruma Corp., which owns Mission Foods and Azteca Milling, now includes folic acid in most of its products and plans to add it to all soon. Mission Foods has already started adding it to all its corn tortillas in the U.S.

Experts say adding folic acid is safe, effective, and affordable. But some critics, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have opposed the move, calling it government overreach.

Late last year, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized California's new law in a post on X: "This is insanity. California is waging war against her children — targeting the poor and communities of color," he wrote.

A spokesperson for Kennedy declined to explain the comments.

There are also false claims online that folic acid is harmful or cannot be processed by some people. However, health experts and advocates say there is no evidence to support these claims.