[Philippe De Wals] said the biggest success story of folic acid fortification occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador, where birth defect rates plunged to 0.76 per 1,000 from 4.56 per 1,000 after the vitamin was added to residents' diets when they ate products like bread, cereal and pasta.

"It's a silent victory," said De Wals, noting that the rate in Newfoundland and Labrador caught up to that of British Columbia, which fell to 0.75 per 1,000 births after mandatory fortification from 0.96 prior to the public health measure's implementation.