Is French flour usually fortified with iron?
Rules are different from those in other countries such as UK and US
For flour or any other foodstuffs to be fortified with additional chemicals in France, prior authorisation must be obtained
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Reader question: My doctor has told me to cut down on my iron intake. I know flour in the UK is often fortified – is it in France too?
All forms of non-wholemeal wheat milled in or imported to the UK must be fortified with minerals, including iron, and the flour must include at least 1.65mg of iron out of every 100g.
Similarly, in the US, wheat flours are fortified with minerals including iron, to a legal minimum of at least 4.4mg of iron out of every 100g of flour.
In France no such mandatory regulations exist, and typically foods are not fortified.
Indeed, for flour or any other foodstuffs to be fortified with additional chemicals in France, prior authorisation must be obtained from the government although health authorities are now trying to push for enrichment of flour with folic acid (vitamin B9, which helps the body make healthy red blood cells).
Generally therefore, domestic products are unlikely to use fortified flour (farine enrichie), unless they specifically state otherwise.
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The label would in this case include wording such as enrichie en fer, or enrichie en minéraux, or the ingredients or nutrition information would mention fer (iron).
This is most likely to be the case with certain specialised nutrition products or niche imported products, but not with standard French flours.
In bakeries, it is also highly unlikely that fortified flour is used, though you could ask to double check.
To be sure, ask for a baguette tradition, as these are strictly regulated as to what ingredients can be used, and only plain unfortified flour is allowed.
