Why California wants folic acid in its corn tortillas
On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti
WBUR
4.3 • 3.9K Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1998, the FDA required folic acid be added to breads and pastas but not corn masa, a staple in Latino communities. Folic acid is known to prevent neural tube birth defects. So, states like California and Alabama are now passing their own mandates.
*** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Security program on spreadsheets. New regulations piling up? An audit dread. It's time for Vanta. Vanta automates |
| 0:07.7 | security and compliance, brings evidence into one place and cuts audit prep by 82%. Less manual work, clear a visibility, faster deals, zero chaos. |
| 0:18.8 | Call it compliance or call it Calm appliance. Get it. |
| 0:22.8 | Join the 15,000 companies using Vanta to prove trust. |
| 0:26.8 | Get started at vanta.com slash calm. |
| 0:30.1 | Support for this podcast comes from Is Business Broken? |
| 0:33.4 | A podcast from the Marotra Institute at BU Questrum School of Business. |
| 0:37.9 | A recent episode explores the challenges and opportunities |
| 0:40.9 | in decarbonizing one of the world's most carbon-intensive industries, |
| 0:45.2 | ocean freight shipping. |
| 0:46.6 | Stick around until the end of this podcast to preview the episode. |
| 0:51.2 | Hey, it's Megna Chakrabardi. |
| 0:53.0 | Before we get to today's episode, I want to let you know that we have new exclusive content in our On Point Club feed. |
| 1:00.3 | It's a behind-the-scenes reporter's notebook from On Point producer Claire Donnelly about our recent trip to Seattle, and it's really, really good. |
| 1:07.6 | If you're not a member of the On Point Club yet, click on the link in the episode |
| 1:11.8 | description to sign up. It's very easy. For just $7 a month, you get first access to the jackpot |
| 1:17.7 | every week, other exclusive content like this, and you'll be the first to know about special live events. |
| 1:23.7 | Now, stick around for today's show. |
| 1:30.1 | WBUR Podcasts, Boston. |
| 1:38.4 | This is on point. I'm Magna Chakrabardi. |
| 1:41.2 | If you've eaten most grain products in the United States, like breads and pastas and rice, you've very likely eaten folic acid. |
| 1:50.5 | Now, folic acid is another name for an important synthetic vitamin. We're really talking about vitamin B9 here. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WBUR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of WBUR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.