{"id":700646,"date":"2026-01-16T20:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/700646\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T20:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:51:15","slug":"prescription-drug-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/700646\/","title":{"rendered":"Prescription drug prices"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new law legally mandating how corn tortillas can be made, despite a 12,000 year tradition<\/a> of making them with just corn, water, and lime, just went into effect in California on January 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

AB 1830, sponsored by physician-turned-Fresno Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula, makes it mandatory to add 0.7 milligrams of folic acid per pound of masa, which must be declared on nutrition labels.<\/p>\n

The bill states that this addition of the synthetic version of vitamin B9 onto the lifeblood of Mexican cuisine is to prevent birth defects among Latina women.<\/p>\n

The bill’s “Findings and Declarations” section includes statements asserting a “disproportionately higher risk” and “higher rate of NTDs [neural tube defects] in Latino communities, saying it’s “a symptom in the broader disease of health inequity.\u201d Common types of neural tube defects include spina bifida.<\/p>\n

La Princesita Tortiller\u00edas assembly line.<\/p>\n

La Princesita Tortiller\u00edas assembly line.<\/p>\n

Folic acid, in its synthetic form, is part of the top 80% of synthetic vitamins produced by China, according to a 2025 S&P Global<\/a> report on the vitamins industry.<\/p>\n

Advocates celebrate the bill as a win in fortified food equality since the initial push to put more folic acid in foods began in 1998, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a mandate to include the supplement in enriched grain products such as bread, cereal, and pasta. It resulted in neural tube defects plummeting<\/a> by 30% to 40% nationwide based on CDC records. But that order did not include corn masa \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n

However, there are loopholes and exceptions to the new law, especially for craft molino owners and tortilla companies who work with only 100% nixtamal, in addition to other exemptions. In short, it only applies to cheaper corn tortillas made with corn tortilla flour, colloquially named \u201cmasa harina\u201d in Spanish and made famous by brands like Maseca. This law also exempts flour tortillas.<\/p>\n

Maiz criollo doesn\u2019t need any added vitamins<\/p>\n

The new law took F\u00e1tima Ju\u00e1rez \u2014 owner of L.A.’s newest craft molino, Komal L.A<\/a>., and a new mother \u2014 by surprise. The stand inside Mercado La Paloma was named one of the best new restaurants<\/a> last year by Bon App\u00e9tit and home to the best taco in L.A., according to L.A. TACO\u2019s own\u00a069 best tacos of 2025<\/a> list.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs someone who was recently pregnant and taking vitamins, I remember the flavor of artificial folic acid being very bitter,\u201d Ju\u00e1rez tells L.A. TACO. \u201cI also remember having a negative reaction \u2014 stomach aches and increased nausea \u2014 until I switched to an organic brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely affects flavor,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

This acrid flavor is what Gustavo Arellano<\/a>, creator of KCRW\u2019s Tortilla Tournament<\/a>, also picked up in a blind taste test.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second one [with folic acid] had a subtle taste of . . . something. It lingered longer on the palate than an old school tortilla, and turned too rubbery in my mouth. The difference was obvious \u2014 it contained folic acid,\u201d he wrote in his weekly column<\/a> in L.A. Times in May last year.<\/p>\n

F\u00e1tima J\u00faarez holds her molotes de platano.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Javier Cabral<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

L.A. TACO<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Komal’s taco de costilla on J\u00faarez’s 100% nixtamal tortilla.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Jakob Layman<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

L.A.. TACO<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Ju\u00e1rez was initially confused and had to do her own research to find out that she was exempt from this new law as someone who works exclusively (and passionately) with 100% heirloom corn nixtamal.<\/p>\n

Still, she understands the need for adding artificially-made vitamins and minerals to masa harina-based tortillas as a preventative measure. Tortillas made with Maseca and other highly processed instant corn flours use genetically modified corn that are known to be stripped of their natural nutrients<\/a> for higher yield and pest resistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis law is primarily for ma\u00edz transgenicos (GMO corn), which have higher sugar, pesticides, and are subject to more processing. The majority of masa and ma\u00edz that we see in L.A. and the U.S. are that,\u201d Juarez says.<\/p>\n

She says that she\u2019s recently tried to eat less tacos made on the streets of L.A. in order to avoid eating GMO corn.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs artisans using 100% ma\u00edz criollo, we are exempt from this law. We intentionally source pure limestone, sourced transparently from Puebla, as well. And let\u2019s not forget that the pericarp in heirloom corn is full of calcium and more vitamins and minerals, naturally,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The tortiler\u00eda CEO and senator that saved traditional corn tortillas from government overreach<\/p>\n

Enrique Rodriguez, CEO of La Princesita Tortiller\u00eda<\/a>, first found out about Arambula\u2019s bill when it was drafted during the 2023-2024 Regular Session last March.<\/p>\n

He supported the goal of helping Latina women against health disparities, but he found the first draft to be \u201cambiguous and overbroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

He remembers the bill, as amended in May 2024, included all tortillas, even those made by small producers using 100% nixtamal. He immediately drafted an opposition letter to the senate health committee, which resulted in the committee\u2019s hearing being postponed.<\/p>\n

Maria Elena Durazo.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Courtesy sd26.senate.ca.gov<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Monica Ramirez, President of La Princesita Tortiller\u00eda, and Edward Ramirez.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nixtamal tortillas are stone-ground with volcanic rock, such as this one.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Courtesy La Princesita Tortiller\u00eda<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

La Princesita, founded in 1972 by Francisco Ramirez, an immigrant from Cuernavaca, Mexico, on the border of East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights, is one of L.A.\u2019s largest manufacturers of tortillas and supplies \u201cseveral hundred restaurants\u201d he tells L.A. TACO, including some of the biggest players in L.A.’s taco universe such as Holbox, Guelaguetza, Chulita, Ramona\u2019s Mexican Food, and Anajak Thai.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we don\u2019t even know where our tortillas end up because they are sold through distribution companies,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The major impact wouldn\u2019t have been in terms of flavor, it would have had a severe impact on our cultural identity by altering the ancestral practices used that define our product.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2014 Enrique Rodriguez, CEO of La Princesita Tortiller\u00eda.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the power of Rodriguez\u2019s letter, which tabled the bill, he had time to have a discussion about his concerns with 26th District Senator Maria Elena Durazo, who heard him out. They both worked together to create multiple exemptions to the law to accommodate small tortiller\u00edas that work with nixtamal as well as restaurants that nixtamalize their own masa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early versions of the bill, there was no distinction between tortillas made with nixtamal and corn flour,\u201d Rodriguez says. \u201cThe major impact wouldn\u2019t have been in terms of flavor, it would have had a severe impact on our cultural identity by altering the ancestral practices used that define our product.”<\/p>\n

He credits Durazo for \u201csinglehandedly saving traditional tortilla making in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez now has become an unofficial hotline for his tortilla producer peers across California, getting texts and messages from his competitors seeking guidance. As Rodriguez sees it, the greater good is keeping traditional tortilla making alive in California, so he responds clearing up the new law to those who are confused.<\/p>\n

La Princesita Tortiller\u00eda as a manufacturer is largely exempt from the bill for several reasons.<\/p>\n

First, they primarily manufacture wet masa products where folic acid fortification isn\u2019t mandatory. Additionally, they are predominantly a supplier to food facilities, which are categorically exempt from the folic acid fortification requirements of the bill.<\/p>\n

The maiz criollo resistance continues<\/p>\n

The news of California\u2019s tortilla politicization is making its way down south to the birthplace of corn: Mexico.<\/p>\n

Oscar Segundo<\/a>, chef and co-owner of Xokol<\/a> in Guadalajara (considered to be the first craft molino in the world upon opening eight years ago), comes from a corn-growing family in Pueblo Mazahua in the state of Mexico. He says California\u2019s local government trying to force tortilla producers to add vitamins is \u201ccolonizing all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Chef Oscar Segundo of Xokol carrying 70 kilograms of corn grown by his family.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Gilberto Hernandez<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

L.A. TACO<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Xrys Ruelas, co-owner and chef at Xokol, in the corn fields in Mazahua, Mexico State.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Gilberto Hernandez<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

L.A. TACO<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you strip away nutrients from corn via using GMO corn and then you are told you need to add back on synthetic versions of nutrients? This all reveals a colonial mindset,\u201d he tells L.A. TACO. \u201cIt\u2019s like when the Spanish came and took away Indigenous Mexico Gods and told us to worship saints instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mexico is no stranger to the politicization of corn tortillas. The country established a law<\/a> in January 2025 stating that Mexican farmers weren\u2019t allowed to grow GMO corn on Mexican soil. But it was also filled with loopholes, allowing the import of cheap and mass-produced, U.S.-grown GMO to make corn flour tortillas and to feed cattle in Mexico.<\/p>\n

That flooding of cheap, U.S.-grown GMO corn resulted in Mexican farmers protesting<\/a> and shutting down highways across Mexico, demanding fair prices for their non-GMO corn.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, tortillas are technical and precise, yet they\u2019re ritualistic and an everyday food as well,\u201d says Segundo. \u201cNixtamalizing activates nutrients if you\u2019re using heirloom corn, so there\u2019s no need to have to add synthetic nutrients.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Arturo Enciso grinding fresh nixtamal at Gusto Bread in Long Beach.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Ochoa<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

L.A. TACO<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

One of Gusto’s most sold pastries are their “nixtamal queens” made with laminated sourdough and nixtamal.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Ochoa<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

L.A. TACO<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Back in L.A, Gusto Bread\u00a0<\/a>owner Arturo Enciso was initially confused and worried about the new law, as he and his partner, Ana Salatino, are getting ready to open a new craft molino in Downtown Long Beach this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cRequiring folic acid as a mandatory additive for tortilla manufacturers is unfortunate and represents a step backward,\u201d he tells L.A. TACO. \u201cIt is my hope that California recognizes this as a significant mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a state, we should serve as custodians of this ancestral staple food, rather than influencing it with synthetic, man-made folate,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rick Ortega, co-owner of Kernel of Truth Organics, overseeing nixtamal tanks at his facility in Boyle Heights.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Javier Cabral<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

L.A. TACO<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rick Ortega, co-owner of Kernel of Truth Organics, overseeing nixtamal tanks at his facility in Boyle Heights.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Javier Cabral<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

L.A. TACO<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n