Trace Melamine Found In U.S. Baby Formula

Same Chemical Fatally Added To Chinese Formula; FDA Says Amount Detected Here Is "Perfectly Fine"

(AP)  Traces of the industrial chemical melamine have been detected in samples of top-selling U.S. infant formula, but federal regulators insist the products are safe.

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 U.S. government quietly began testing domestically produced infant formula in September, soon after problems with melamine-spiked formula surfaced in China.

Sundlof said there have been no reports of human illness in the United States from melamine, which can bind with other chemicals in urine, potentially causing damaging stones in the kidney or bladder and, in extreme cases, kidney failure.

Melamine is used in some U.S. plastic food packaging and can rub off onto what we eat; it's also contained in a cleaning solution used on some food processing equipment and can leach into the products being prepared.

Sundlof told the AP the positive test results "so far are in the trace range, and from a public health or infant health perspective, we consider those to be perfectly fine."

That's different from the impression of zero tolerance the agency left on Oct. 3, when it 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."

FDA scientists said then that they couldn't set an acceptable level of melamine exposure in infant formula because science hadn't had enough time to understand the chemical's effects on infants' underdeveloped kidneys. Plus, there is the complicating factor that infant formula often constitutes a newborn's entire diet.

The agency added, however, that its position did not mean that any exposure to a detectable level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula would result in harm to infants.

Still, the announcement was widely interpreted by manufacturers, the news media and Congress to mean that infant formula that tested positive at any level could not be sold in the United States.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association, for example, told its members: "FDA could not identify a safe level for melamine and related compounds in infant formula; thus it can be concluded they will not accept any detectable melamine in infant formula."

It was not until the AP inquired about tests on domestic formula that the FDA articulated that while it couldn't set a safe exposure for infants, it would accept some melamine in formula - raising the question of whether the decision to accept very low concentrations was made only after traces were detected.

On Sunday, Sundlof said the agency had never said, nor implied, that domestic infant formula was going to be entirely free of melamine. He said he didn't know if the agency's statements on infant formula had been misinterpreted.

In China, melamine was intentionally dumped into watered-down milk to trick food quality tests into showing higher protein levels than actually existed. Byproducts of the milk ended up in infant formula, coffee creamers, even biscuits.

The concentrations of melamine there were extraordinarily high, as much as 2,500 parts per million. The concentrations detected in the FDA samples were 10,000 times smaller - the equivalent of a drop in a 64-gallon trash bin.

There would be no economic advantage to spiking U.S.-made formula at the extremely low levels found in the FDA testing. It neither raises the protein count nor saves valuable protein, said University of California, Davis chemist Michael Filigenzi, a melamine detection expert.

According to FDA data for tests of 77 infant formula samples, a trace concentration of melamine was detected in one product - Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron. An FDA spreadsheet shows two tests were conducted on the Enfamil, with readings of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million.

[fush2]

omg!!!! thats just something i didnt expect.. maybe we should just stick to breast feeding our babies....people way back then didnt have formula...im sure babies would be fine without it

[pacificvvz]

Why should this story shock anyone !

The FDA has been on the payroll of the Pharmaceutical company''s for years....Check out the AUTISM - MERCURY POISONING PROBLEM, DUE TO BABY VACCINES being laced with THIMEROSAL ( A mercury additive that is 50 % Mercury)

I just read a great book on this subject....If you want to know whats really going on, check out the book titled " MERCURY: THE WINGED MESSENGER" It will open your eyes about the political corruption in this country.

[toolmangler-2009]

Let your neighbor place a trace amount of
fecal matter in you food every other day.
Don''t worry it won''t kill you.

Posted by rushlimpdrug at 05:59 PM : Nov 26, 2008





The FDA allows a 5% foriegn matter percentile (GRAS) in food stuffs. This includes Fecal matter (Rodent, Bird, etc)

[mamastep]

this is unacceptable and despicable! i long ago lost faith in the FDA, this just reaffirms my decision to do so.

[rushlimpdrug]

So are you saying Chinese spies are poisoning the U.S. baby formula supply???
Posted by txgrouch2007 at 01:14 PM

Are you really that stupid?

The chemical is found in trace amounts in
baby formula.

Try this experiment:

Let your neighbor place a trace amount of
fecal matter in you food every other day.

Don''t worry it won''t kill you.

[yongamerica]

Melamine was never in any products until the Chinese started processing proteins for America. To find it in baby formula in the US should OUTRAGE the FDA and the American public should gather pitch forks and torches and storm the Chinese embassy and offices in mass protest.

[yongamerica]

Here is a case of the Government siding with manufacturers. Everyone knows the dangers of melamine.

To say "The Food and Drug Administration said last month it was unable to identify any melamine exposure level as safe for infants" and then say ignore this warning is corrupt logic and is inexcusable. Bush Buddies Bonking the Babies.

[petro49l]

If the Chinese Government can''t abort children as fetuses, they put venom in their milk. Melamine is a substance used for killing. The ultimate form of reducing population is tricking people into drinking toxic chemicals. It is the old military adage of poisoning the water.

[Meg003]

I tend not to do that in longer posts because of the letter limit. I do like the fact the critique was on message to the post ,and could be considered constructive.

Posted by clovisbuford

I didn''t know about the letter limit.

Probably you are younger than I am, too. Young folks don''t seems to have issues with reading computer screens. Some of us middle-aged folks do.

[clovisbuford]

clovisbuford
With a lengthy post, you might consider using the spacebar to create spacing between points. It''''s hard to follow a long post like that without some breaks.
Posted by Meg001 at 12:55 PM : Nov 26, 2008
I tend not to do that in longer posts because of the letter limit. I do like the fact the critique was on message to the post ,and could be considered constructive.

[txgrouch2007]

"THIS SMELLS REAL BAD OF CHINESE TRECHERY"
Posted by MrNrgmizer at 11:56 AM : Nov 26, 2008

So are you saying Chinese spies are poisoning the U.S. baby formula supply???

[txgrouch2007]

If your theory was true, wouldn''''t all samples tested show it???
Posted by jtdev1 at 12:07 PM : Nov 26, 2008

This suggests two possibilities:

1) The quantity of melamine is not uniform, so some samples HAVE NO MELAMINE, and none is detected.

2) The amount of melamine is uniform, but it is so small that random sample-to-sample variations cause the melamine level to fall below what can be detected in some samples. Which suggests that ALL samples have only slightly more than that.

Without having the raw data and the detector characteristcs, it''s hard to pick out which answer is accurate.

[caliengineer]

The FDA, controlled by the NWO, was outed by the AP?

No! They would like us to believe this. However, the site walmartwatch reported immediately that Wal Mart illegally imported milk from China.

Trader Joe''s stopped selling food from China. Shop there. Can the amazing amount of poison in food from there really be accidental?

Whether intentionally introduced to better the bottom line or acceptable and necessary to the packaging of products is immaterial to the ultimate question of should the consumer purchase these products. The answer is a resounding NO, no matter the excuse. Make it known to the consumer what is included in the ingredients and let the consumer make his own choices. Those who excuse the industry''s excesses need to have their children consume more of those products. It will improve the gene pool.

[Meg003]

clovisbuford

With a lengthy post, you might consider using the spacebar to create spacing between points. It''s hard to follow a long post like that without some breaks.

[clovisbuford]

with your deranged ravings painted all over it with the lines so close together that the letters from one line touch or overlap the letters of the adjacent line?Posted by txgrouch2007 at 11:09 AM : Nov 26, 2008 I gotta love a grammar nazi online . I usually draw the line when people post in all caps like they are important.As for my contention that the FDA has been overzealous in its acting as firewall between big pharma and the consumer you never answered that one. Wow , you must make a killing in the psychiatric market with your skills.Send me an e-mail , or a letter and I can tell by your grammar whether you should seek psychiatric help or not ,one would think the appropriate response would be remedial writing .For me it is the issues that matter."Pharmaceutical firms are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, but that alone does not pre-empt state lawsuits %u2014 and for decades, courts have ruled that lawsuits can still go forward against drug companies for failing to adequately label and warn consumers and doctors about either the dangers of a drug or the dangers in administering it.
Wyeth is arguing that lawsuits like this one are barred, because the FDA approved its label. And for the first time, the federal agency is taking the side of the company.
The case poses two questions." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95380152

[actornaught]

Just more evidence to reinforce that the neocon contract-on-america experiment needs to be shutdown completely. w''s deregulations, and hobbling of oversight of everything from toys to drugs will hopefully be unravelled in favor of the US government doing the public''s business in a meaningful way.

Everybody that voted for w, especially twice, needs to feel total shame.

[jtdev1]

This issue of "detecting trace amounts" is the result of the latest technology being able to detect MINISCULE amounts of a substance, even just a few molecules.

Posted by txgrouch2007



Could be, but it still doesn''t explain why it is detected in SOME of the samples and NOT others...

If your theory was true, wouldn''t all samples tested show it???

[usclimey]

NOBODY is intentionally pouring macroscopic quantities of melamine in U.S. baby formula.

This whole news item is a joke.

Posted by txgrouch2007

Thanks grouch - my point exactly, though more clearly stated. Good job.

[Meg003]

differnet

The sad truth is, Obama won''t be able to stop stories of food and drug problems. Many components of food and drugs, including vitamins, manufactured here are imported. Unless he imposes trade barriers to stop imports of food and drug substances, we will have untested foods and drugs.

Even if he attempts to improve U.S. manufacturing, he is going to face an impossible task getting perfect food on our tables or perfect drugs in our medicine cabinets. There will always be problems that slip through, because we cannot afford to test every single item.