FDA Finds Traces of Melamine in US Infant Formula

The FDA says that these are just trace amounts and that they do not rise to the level of a need for recall. Yet, there's something here that has me wondering about how the melamime entered the manufacturing process and why it was considered acceptable.

The Food and Drug Administration said last month it was unable to identify any melamine exposure level as safe for infants, but a top official said it would be a "dangerous overreaction" for parents to stop feeding infant formula to babies who depend on it.

"The levels that we are detecting are extremely low," said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "They should not be changing the diet. If they've been feeding a particular product, they should continue to feed that product. That's in the best interest of the baby."

Melamine is the chemical found in Chinese infant formula — in far larger concentrations — that has been blamed for killing at least three babies and making at least 50,000 others ill.

Previously undisclosed tests, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the FDA has detected melamine in a sample of one popular formula and the presence of cyanuric acid, a chemical relative of melamine, in the formula of a second manufacturer.

Separately, a third major formula maker told AP that in-house tests had detected trace levels of melamine in its infant formula.

The three firms — Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson — manufacture more than 90 percent of all infant formula produced in the United States.

The FDA and other experts said the melamine contamination in U.S.-made formula had occurred during the manufacturing process, rather than intentionally.

The FDA and the manufacturers have a potential mess on their hands, and they need to deal with this judiciously, swiftly, and openly. In sufficient quantities, melamine can kill - toxicity is always in the dosage, and the FDA believes that the trace amounts found in the US infant formula don't pose a hazard.

This is the same chemical that injured thousands of Chinese infants and killed several Chinese children when melamine was purposefully added to baby formula to bolster the protein content. The chemical was also found in milk products and even chocolates that were sold outside China. The Chinese government for its part engaged in a coverup to avoid coverage of the story during the Beijing Olympics.

I think the FDA will need to revisit that position and clarify exactly whether any melamime is acceptable or set limits.