More Melamine Contamination News…

By: James Burge

So I just came across an article that (finally) confirms the Melamine contamination I mentioned a few days before Halloween. 

 

The FDA’s test results, which the agency hid from the public and only released after the Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that Nestle, Mead Johnson and Enfamil infant formula products were all contaminated with melamine.

 

The first thing that stands out above is that the FDA hid test results from the public, something that seems to deny common sense. If the levels are low and of no risk to the public, why hide the info.  Why not let people know so that they can try to limit their exposure and commit to reducing, or eliminating the chemical altogether. Instead, after testing baby formula that is being sold in the US, the FDA has decided to raise the limit that it claims is safe for infants from none, to 1ppm, which just happens to be slightly higher than products being sold in the US. They have made these claims without doing any research into the toxic effects.

 

Prior to these test results being made public, the FDA had published a document on its website that explained there was no safe level of melamine contamination in infant formula. Specifically, the FDA stated, “FDA is currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns.”Once tests found melamine in U.S.-made formula products, however, the FDA changed its story. As of today, the FDA has now officially declared melamine to be safe in infant formula as long as the contamination level is less than one part per million (1 ppm).

Astonishingly: The FDA has no new science to justify its abrupt decision declaring melamine to be safe!

 

 

 

The standard is the same as the one public health officials have set in Canada and China, but is 20 times higher than the most stringent level in Taiwan.

Source: link

 

 

The second question that arises is how melamine got into the baby formula in the first place.  The official claim is that it is due to contamination from manufacturing equipment. 

 

And yet the AP is reporting that the expected level of melamine contamination from manufacturing equipment is only 15 ppb (parts per billion).

 

Yet the FDA’s own tests found levels 16x that expected due to contamination from manufacturing equipment. This of course leads to the question of how levels could get so high. One conclusion is that Melamine was actually added in order to artificially raise the protein content. Another is that Melamine in animal feed could account for high levels in milk products. The second possibility means that all of the milk produced in the US could be high in Melamine and therefore any milk products like yogurt, cheese, etc. are also at risk.