MELAMINE BE aWARE

2008 Chinese milk scandal

In September 2008, several companies were implicated in a scandal involving milk and infant formula which had been adulterated with melamine, leading to kidney stones and other renal failure, especially among young children. By 22 September, nearly 53,000 people had become ill, with more than 12,800 hospitalizations and four infant deaths.[47][48]

Melamine may have been added to fool government protein content tests after water was added to fraudulently dilute the milk. Because of melamine’s high nitrogen content (66% by mass versus approx. 10-12% for typical protein), it can cause the protein content of food to appear higher than the true value.[49][50] Officials estimate that about 20 percent of the dairy companies tested in China sell products tainted with melamine.

Testing for melamine and cyanuric acid in food

Until the 2007 pet food recalls, melamine had not routinely been monitored in food, except in the context of plastic safety or insecticide residue. This could be due to the previously assumed low toxicity of melamine, and the relatively expensive methods of detection.

Because melamine resin is often used in food packaging and tableware, melamine at ppm level (1 part per million) in food and beverage has been reported due to migration from melamine-containing resins.[52] Small amounts of melamine have also been reported in foodstuff as a metabolite product of cyromazine, an insecticide used on animals and crops.[53]

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides a test method for analyzing cyromazine and melamine in animal tissues. [28][29] In 2007, the FDA began using a high performance liquid chromatography test to determine the melamine, ammeline, ammelide, and cyanuric acid contamination in food.[54] Another procedure is based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine