What is Melamine?

What are the uses of melamine?

I just found out I'm allergic to melamine. Or MFR (melamine formaldehyde resin) that is used as a coating.

I had developed eczema on my wrists and elbows slowly after buying a desk with a melamine surface.

It's taken me forever (1.5 years) to figure out what was going on. I got rid of the desk, and the rash went away after almost two weeks. I had used everything. Using 1-2 percent Hydrocortisone creams would keep the dermatitis at bay, but it would come back in force immediately after I stopped using the creams.

The onset was so sudden I thought it was stress related. But getting rid of the desks with the melamine surface was the issue. Could be sensitivity to either formaldehyde or the melamine?

Actually, the melamine contamination in dairy products (among other foodstuffs such as chicken, eggs, even baking powder and more) has largely been attributed to animal feed produced by Monsanto and later replicated by individuals.

People are quick to forget the nature of the food chain, that what the livestock eat, we all eventually consume. You are what you eat, and you are what that ate too.

Maybe we should examine why Monsanto and the Chinese equivalent of DuPont are engaging in a concerted effort to stealthily contaminate the world's food supply with toxins en masse.

Can anyone tell me about the ratio of urea in melamine production, and also tell me the cost per ton of melamine approximately.

I need to know whether Melamine is water soluble and whether it is used in cements as a setting agent and a curing agent without using water for curing and setting?

Do you have any formulations to make curing agents by using Melamine

I want to know how it works physically and chemically in this formulation.

All my furniture is made of melamine. Please let me know if it is toxic. Thank you.

Would anyone know about this product I just discovered, "bamboo melamine?" Is that different from melamine in that it just had some bamboo mixed in to the melamine, or is it an entirely different product?

anon86143 - Melamine is made from urea which is in a liquid from which goes through a long rigorous process of cooling and heating and adding of ammonia and taking other things out but in the end, after drying, you end up with a nice fine white powder, which is bagged or shipped in container around the world to different manufacturers to be used for their products, be it dishes, clothes (mostly fire retardant), Magic Eraser, etc.

My post does not in any way address the poisoning of babies with milk tainted with melamine. Mine is simply about carrying the Melamine scare way too far afield without proof. I agree with anon17083 as to melamine in dishes and kitchenware. I was born in 1950 and as soon as Melamine dishes came out my Mom bought a 32 piece set (I believe from the Jewel Tea Man who home delivered ). We ate out of them for the next ten years or more (probably 20) and when I married I too, bought a set for everyday use, saving my "best china" for special occasions. So did both my sisters-in-law. We all continued to eat out of Melamine for many years.

There were seven of us children born to my parents, and the only two of us who have now passed away were a two year old from a bacterial infection in 1945, years before Melamine was even available, and another sister who died at 31, a suicide. My Dad lived to be 81 and my Mom lived a year longer until past her 82nd birthday. All of the rest of us five children are still living, ranging in age from 60 (me) to 78 (my oldest brother).

There were no microwaves back in the 60's, so the Melamine dishes we owned were never used in one to heat food. My Mom had brains enough not to put plastic in the oven or on a burner, so the only heat ours were exposed to would have been hot foods being poured or placed on them and our eating those foods from the dishes, but we ate from them every single day for years and years. So think about it, people, and don't go off the deep end. Just practice reasonable precautions about Melamine in kitchenware.

Don't heat foods in the microwave or oven in Melamine bowls or any Melamine container (and of course not on a burner..duh!). (I don't use any type of plastic or acrylic in the microwave or oven, anyway). Don't pour boiling foods into melamine. If you have a really small child, then do what feels best for you. If you worry, then don't feed children at all from them.

However, adults and even older children eating cold or warm food from them should be reasonably safe, or at least as safe as anything is nowadays. If it wasn't, then I and all my brothers and sisters (as well as their wives, husbands, and 12 children) would all be dead now from a Melamine related disease or poisoning or Melamine induced cancer. Just speaking for myself and ignoring my huge family's similar use of Melamine for years, I alone ate from melamine plates and bowls and drank from Melamine tumblers at least twice a day, 365 days a year for at least 20 years and I'm still here. 60 years old and still here.

So, calm down. The incidents of babies being poisoned by Melamine had nothing to do with eating or drinking from Melamine kitchen products. It was in the milk, so don't mix things up and go bonkers.

One day at a time we are all exposed to some form of thousands of chemicals. If you start wringing your hands and seeing Death in his hood and swinging his scythe every time there is yet another chemical exposed as being a carcinogen or poisonous, then you are wasting half your life on things you can do little about.

Be cautious, be careful, be aware, but also keep in mind this is the price we all pay for a "modern and convenience oriented" world. And above all, don't spread paranoia and play Henny Penny and spoil your and others lives. For years coffee was said to be bad for you, now suddenly it's good. Same goes for some foods and certain habits. Take it all with a grain of salt and be practical.

To put it as plainly as possible, think Clorox: you can clean and disinfect with it if you are careful and use it only as directed, but of course you can't drink it. Don't mix up the dangers of any chemical as our world is full of them by our own hands. Got it now?

what effect does the country of origin have on marketing? how does this effect work for American, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian and India companies and their products? how will melamine crisis affect chinese companies and foreign companies manufacturing their products in China?

is melamine bad for your health?

Can anybody tell me from which form melamine is made? is it made from liquid form or powder form or from sheet form.

Hi Can someone tell me if plates, etc. made from melamine are PBA free? It probably sounds like a silly question.

In my recent post: anon 46120, I mentioned a precipitation into "lattices of crystals...". That should be melamine cyanurate not cyanate. I don't want my typo to lead folks into thinking this blockage has any link to any sort of cyanide poisoning event. As far as I know, toxic cyanide can't be released from melamine cyanurate without very high heat. I want to explain that just because a vet does not have all the facts about how melamine can form blockages in the kidneys and bladder systems, don't think they are a bad vet. This is medical mystery that is still being studied. And even if they are quite knowledgeable about all the interactions of these compounds, vets generally don't have the time to discuss chemistry with their client's owner. If your pet is still having bladder problems/ lots of ammonia smell in litter box, etc., go to a vet with ultrasonography available. There is hope. Bladders can be unburdened of the sludge various ways. Check with your vet and invest some time reading up on your pet's bladder health. Sometimes the more knowledge you bring with you to the vets, the more likely your pet will get a correct diagnosis and timely care. I am not a vet but have a science background which has helped me make amateur but educated guesses that have helped a few vet friends solve some tricky pet illnesses over the years. Hate seeing animals suffer.

If melamine is ingested simultaneously with cyanuric acid--that's one of the ways renal failure can ensue. Cyanuric acid is a byproduct of water conditioners/algaecide. These are used in swimming pools, fish tanks, fish farms and even tap water whose source has required algaecides at times. No doubt the reason why melamine in fish food killed a poster's pet fish. This is a type of synergistic poisoning. There may often be a catalyst involved as well. In the case of the pet illnesses, urea may have been a catalyst. So you can have three relatively harmless chemicals, but mix them together somewhere in the body, and, voila! A deadly chemical or compound forms that the body can't process or eliminate. Major organ failure can result. In the melamine tainted pet food case, the failure was probably renal due to blockage of tubes by lattices of precipitated melamine cyanate crystals. One of the less immediately fatal illnesses melamine can also cause is the formation of melamine bladder stones. The bladder can also fill with a melamine sludge to the point here the pet becomes incontinent. Melamine sludge can't be seen by x-ray, but only detected as a gel type mass with ultrasound technology. Basically what you have here is a substance that the body does not want in its bloodstream. But in trying to get rid of it, blockages can happen. We will continue to read more about the dangers of melamine in years to come. As we read above, cabinet workers are getting sick from this exposure. It is a tragedy still unfolding. It makes me angry that OSHA isn't warning workers about the new findings. Plus the manufacturers of these products are still calling melamine totally safe on MDS sheets. But folks, don't worry -- there is a special pit in hell just for those poisoners.

Can I use a paint made for plastic on Melamine (formica) that will adhere to it?

You are looking for safe materials to use in a microwave oven? Look up "microwave proteins" and you'll discover that plastics should be the least of your worries (microwaved food is killing you).

So many people in China eat cats people! They love to eat cats! So if they will eat cats, of course they don't care about our pets!

Does anyone know of an animal that survived the melamine poisonings and if so what was the outcome? I recently had a cat euthanized because of UTI/bladder problems, possibly a tumor with all bloodwork and urinalysis coming back normal, yet she walked around like an old cat for a three-year-old.

anon36579 - there is such a thing as melamine resin that contains urea; it's called melamine-modified urea formaldehyde resin, and goes by the acronym of MUF.

Melamine-formaldehyde resins are not made starting with urea. Melamine molded products are thermoset and will not deform under heat but will decompose at elevated temperatures.

My cat died sometime in 2007 or 2008 of bladder problems. He had bad kidneys, and had a lot of trouble going to the bathroom. I wonder if the cat food he ate was tainted with melamine?

Is melamine safe as dinnerware? Will toxins leak into food if Melamine is exposed to heat or acidic foods?

Why should we take a chance? I don't trust it if I don't know what it does.

Does anybody know? As far as I know melamine dishes are *not* microwave safe.

The melamine was added to these high protein foods because it contains nitrogen. Simple protein tests only look for the level of nitrogen, so this serves to "pad" the numbers.

i am soo thankful for this website. has explained a lot to me. i never realized how much stuff it is in until now that i have become allergic to it. more people need to be aware of this chemical :/

Mad cow is back. Maybe they will wake up when the 20,000 military troops are on the street, choppers buzzing overhead. Then when the Nafta Super Hwy is complete they can really march the troops in in full force. Did you see the google vid: The Disappearing Male? It is freaky!!!

When will people wake up to honesty? We had mad cow disease about 10 years ago. Now we have Melamine scandal. What's up next?

Melamine was found in feed for organic chickens in many farms in France. The US gets the same feed from China. Stay clear of mainstream news. Get on you tube and other real news sources. Check out Michael Adams, health ranger. Alex Jones...DR mercola, DR.Rima Laibow on Codex Alimentarious.

annon368 you are right on ...but now we have to be careful with organics as well. It may even become hard to grow safe food, as GMOs are contaminating other crops. And then we have the issues of the water supply being hazardous and chem trails, last but not least is poor soil quality. However the water and soil can be cleaned and amended. annon435 that probably isn't going to happen. I watched Pres. Bush say that we may be heading for a depression worse than the big one. We are probably only going to enjoy cheaper gas for another 3-6 months. Patriots prepare. Be aware, smart and safe.

The USA needs to stop all trade with China. We should bring our jobs back home and make our products safe again.

Steer well clear of any kind of "corporate" food; or food you suspect to have "corporate ingredients. The giveaways are: High fructose corn syrup: cotton seed oil;anything with aspartame (NutraSweet); avoid big brands like Kellogg;Kraft; basically avoid shopping at large mainstream grocery stores and shift over to health food stores; independent groceries;farmers markets ;online and local produce delivery services. Its true you may, in some (but not all cases), be paying more for your food, but its well worth it.

How could a plastic resin be minimally toxic? I get the feeling that we're not getting the whole story.

OK, melamine is just one thing in a hug heap. Help your friends and family to wake up. Look up BPA, it is in many plastics that our food is in. Plz. Look at the back of your toothpaste. You will see Sodium Fluoride, and then on the box it tell you if more than a pea size amount is swallowed call poison control. Want to know why? Sodium Fluoride is used in rat poison. Look up Christpher Bryson for details! Then we have brominated veg. oil, found in many lemon-lime drinks.... read those food labels and do the search on line for yourself. they are not hiding the facts that there are many toxins in our lives. National Tap Water Water Data Base, if you dare. EWG, for independent water testing. that bottled water they have been pushing is full of toxins. GMO's in a Austrian study is linked to mice infertility. Drug adds on Tv are advertising that they are going to mess you up. Apartame, MSG, etc. none of it hidden..... go figure. Explore your world!!!

melamine- why all of you think gov. don't protect us. they don't want all of you live long and enjoy your retirements, cost too much. they want all of you be gone before all of you reach 60.

second- its citizens fault, all of you want and want things, so they give it to you.

stop thinking, and shut up!!!

Regarding the FDA,

Unfortunately, many of the executives have come from big business companies like Monsanto. What a conflict of interests. "I pledge allegiance to the United States of America," not Monsanto.

I wonder how REACH and the Green Chemistry Initiative in CA will effect melamine production?

Thank Goodness we shipped most if not all our manufacturing jobs overseas so now we have foreign companies that are controlled by US Corporations without the safety standards that would be imposed here outsourced to foreign countries so we can rely on tainted food, baby formula, inferior machinery and tools, what is next aircraft replacement parts?

Hopefully with sound leadership coming hopefully whom some voted in for our next president he will use sound rational common sense judgment to realize the cost differential between for what it would cost to produce here versus getting a few cents cheaper produced over there just does not vett out regarding safety standards and specifications.

it's very dangerous the melamine

Melamine is just like cancer. One can get it from anything. One might just as well watch out for the products that one buys and try to avoid foods that are said to have melamine. It is so much more important to focus on what really counts in life rather than to worry about eating foods that probably don't have melamine.

I understand that most of our vitamins are made in China, that they to contain Melamine - a organic crystalline substance. I have been using Natto and was told it contained this crystalline substance. People wake up... it is time to stop this from coming into Canada and the US by boycotting products coming from China.

So is it OK to use kitchenware like bowls, cups, and plates which is made from 100% melamine?

Thank you for this good information. I am trying to help people stay on top of this crisis and I post the latest banned foods with melamine daily. I would appreciate it if you could let people know about us. This is an international problem and we have found there is not one place to keep up with the foods that are being found daily to contain melamine. Thank you

There's always Listeria, Legionnaires disease, E-coli and salmonella that'll get you if melamine doesn't.

Indian food is just as bad. Girls in India still carry human waste in buckets and dump them at the railroad tracks every day. God knows what standards they have when it comes to food exports. 3rd world is still 3rd world.

you know, this just sucks! you can't trust anything to be healthy now-a-days. From Plastics to food to cleaning products. It all just sucks. the companies don't care about all the chemicals either. they just want to get rich fast making us suffer. They give all our jobs to the freakin chinese who we then buy crap goods from. The freakin FDA also gets everything wrong, and spends all their time monitoring things that don't matter while leaving things like this unchecked. This is whats killing our country, making us fat and dumb, its not us, its these freaking chemicals that we consume everyday without even knowing. You know there is over a billion chemicals that we ingest that we don't even know what effects they have on our bodies. and yet they are still in out there, and we americans don't have the time or money anymore to go through and see whats bad. it really just sucks, and its going to get worse before we all realize how brainwashed everyone is.

This is Horrific the way that the FDA is not doing anything to protect our children and pets. How long do you think this has been going on? How can we as Americans stand up and make our voices Heard? We need to take Action and Stop being pushed around We Live in The Land of the Free!!!!!!!!!!

Just because the product is made in the USA doesn't mean that the ingredients didn't come from China or any other country that wants to poison us or it's own people. The multi million dollar USA Factories will sell it's soul or should I say our soul to the devil to make a buck ya know. I'd beware of a lot now-a-days. Nestle china factory has already sent out their poison world wide to our children. Where is our so called FDA now. Or are they behind it,too. oh probably too close to the elections to set off the scare for the United States People.

Why is it that melamine is widely used in food products? Are they trying to make us suffer and eventually die? Myanmar people has complained some years ago on this contamination.

If its from asia, and contains any kind of dairy, or stuff you can't pronounce, steer clear

Wow, this so-called anonymity is great. cause i can say stuff like, listen until someone dies, or get incredibly sick, how are we supposed to know if there are contaminates in our food. I mean most people are busy enough these days taking care of whatever life has thrown at em that they have become "lax" enough to let the food and drug administration decide what is best for them. So i say to you APATHY, or Vegan, or take the time to read and somehow decipher what is in it. and then use your super powers to see the stuff that will kill you, it'll glow

You better hurry up to change your mind about the hazardous material as of Melamine. Because it is dangerous health for any animals and people to eat. The Lord Jesus Christ second is coming. You better stop making this to everyone in this world!! Do it now!! That way to prevent of being guilty to everyone. According to the FDA officers!!

I find it slightly humorous but mostly disheartening to see how disgusted and scared people are when it comes to receiving products from China and area - unfortunately, soon every product we as consumers will buy, will all be from China and Mexico once the North American Union is in place and the super highway is the main road for distribution. Think of the loss of even the decent regulations once this happens. Do your research people. -Canadian

It pisses me off how FDA says oh this is okay for "them" to eat or "that" what are we a bunch of animals that allow us what and what we can't have. They know this is killing people but they say ohhh just a little won't hurt just so they can keep a little money in their pocket. I know i'm rambling but just think about it. They say this we can have but we can't smoke a little bit of herb because it gets you high but that doesn't kill you. I just don't understand how we let these people control us.

since we all know what melamine is...

let's just make sure for the goods that we are going to buy...

In alberta Canada we have a company in Morinville that produces its cat and dog food with products canadian made (fish,eggs,meat etc.) stuff that cats and dogs would normally eat. we used to feed our critters with "Premium food" but were shocked to find out that it doesn't come from North America. Do your self a favor and find out where your food comes from and try to buy local.

why don't people realize about this before. i think this kind of chemical already exists in any other product but the authority never realize about that.

Melamine is what is causing 1000s of people in china to get sick because it is in their milk. right?

It is not just FDA but also the food safety inspection are needed to get their act together to ensure the American food/products safety. Just like the BPA from plastic bottles, and the manufacturers are not required to label them. Saccharin also tested to cause skin cancer but no longer label the ingredient after 10 years. We are consuming more and more toxic materials. Thanks to the so called regulators.

i have to write a report on melamine in pet foods for journalism. i want to qoute this site but i can't find the author's name. also, any other opinions on the topic. fyi:please respond quickly. Paper due in 2 days!!!!

I haven't read all the posts but several. The theme which I find appalling is the trust being placed in the FDA. As an American who has been reading her food ingredient labels for years The ingredients which are being consumed by everyday American people are dangerous, toxic etc. How many recalls in the last year has the FDA made? With each recall many deaths have been observed and now you put your faith in the Food and Drug Administration? Wake up Folks! Why are the 2 things (Food and Drug) together? because they are putting so much food in our Drugs?

here in the Philippines we have lots of meatloaf especially a maling brand that came from china i would like to know if it is safe to eat or does it have a melamine content?

I just bought Royal Dansk wafers at my local food/drug store (nationwide) and after eating 3 and my son, 9, eating 3, I read on the canister that this stuff is produced & packaged in Indonesia and yes, it contains milk/creamer products! Lovely! Granted, I have not read anything about this brand being 'tainted' w/ melamine, however, it scares the crap out of me thinking that with all the melamine scares coming out of that part of the world (China), who knows when the FDA will recall this brand, as well. I mean, obviously, if this company is producing the product in Indonesia, I assume they're not using milk products from anywhere else in the world other than their own! It disgusts me that anything coming from that part of the world, especially that contains milk products, are still on US store shelves.. I find, like anything else, we are allowed to ingest poison for so long before they finally remove that stuff from our stores.. or like other things, it remains on the shelves for years and everything is 'okay' until one day, years later, after many ingestions, they are 'banned' and 'dangerous or fatal to your health.' When are we, consumers, finally going to say 'enough is enough'.. and put pressure on our government to stop allowing poisonous chemicals in our food supply or on things that kids suck on, ingest (paint on toys, etc)? How many lives have to be in jeopardy because of 'trade' or the almighty buck?

why do we buy this garbage from the chinese? can't we make our own milk powder? i think we can!

I disagree here. I don't think we have a choice in selecting our products origins. Lately it's all about 'Greed', Profit Margins and the Bottom line. For companies to stay in business some choose to go off shore where there are fewer restrictions, controls and regulations. It is difficult for us to compete with countries that ignore standards imposed by the EPA, FDA, Health, US Tax Laws, US Patent & Copyright Laws, etc., hence, the problem at hand.

I personally think that they are just tooooooo cheap to use quality products. It ends up that they killed their own people for using cheap cement to build high schools, created SARS that reflected the whole world, using melamine to poison their own young generations and others... We should do something about it to stop this phenomena...

China is spreading another virus that could kill many lives through their cheap (low costs) products.. People buy them because of practicality and affordability. But why is that they are only thinking about having much profit without thinking about the implications of their made products? Yes they are powerful in terms of financial stability; their country is wealthy but why are they not contended? Isn't much better if they could help the poor countries by doing good products that wouldn't infect us? Hey China, have mercy! Have mercy!

Talk of Rumor Control! You folks posting on this web site mean well. But most have no idea of what they are saying or what they are writing about. Take Over of the World? Are you nuts or have you been canned up too long?

Poisoning our children? We have been poisoning each other for so long. That now we look to lay blame on any country that screws up. First clean up your own back yard at home. Before raising hell about another countries problems dropped on the world. Every company since the beginning of time has looked for ways to cut cost. China found many over the years and you the same ones complaining helped finance them by buying their cheap products instead of those made in the good ol' U S OF A.

Complain if you must. But to be honest go through your home and see how many things you have bought over the years that say "Made in China" on them. Then smack yourself upside the head for supporting their greed for more money in cutting prices with the use of harmful chemicals.

China is aiming to annihilate us all. Haven't you noticed? they are invading our countries, there are chinatowns everywhere. and they are rapidly multiplying like insects. they are trying to kill us using their substandard, cheap products. I am initiating a campaign to ban anything made by chinese people. they are going to kill us all and invade our countries!

it is highly doubtful that the chinese are trying to directly poison us, americans...much less, the rest of the world...they seem to be inadvertently poisoning their own country and surrounding countries. most likely, a couple companies (or sister companies under the same umbrella parent company?) decided to cut some corners and use melamine in some of their products. obviously they are not regulated by the same FDA that we lucky americans are. i feel that, while i don't agree with a lot of their communist state, china is making strides to get over the reputation it USED to have...i have faith in humanity and the goodness of others...and i believe a few rotten eggs doesn't make the whole dozen bad.

well.. to the point is that those harmful chemical added to the milk products must be diminished but first they have to investigate further more about those people involve and take those life time imprisonment,,,

The BFAD should be careful in investigating this matter. We know how CHINA is a big state, better study this matter carefully.

We have no right to conclude anything of the present event that concerns melamine because there has no direct or specific investigation that has been done to concludes CHINA'S involvement in this.

It is better for us to be aware of the present circumstance. We better wait for further investigation that will truly point out China's involvement.

Yes, melamine is dangerous so we must be careful and avoid substances like that!! For the sake of the future generations!!

Wake up America ! There is no freakin way the Chinese did this by accident. They, as a group, are poisoning us, our children and our pets.

It's criminal, and our elected officials are too greedy and corrupt to even think of stopping the murder of people around the globe.

Yeah, like one person said above, China sucks.

We need to beef up our standards when trading w/ China and other countries. Jeez... Who knows how much powdered milk products are in our processed foods... and probably much of that comes from China. Great... Everything that country makes is sub-par. China sucks.

Can one tell whether they have ingested or come in contact with Melamine or diethylene glycol? Is there some type of blood or urine test that can tell?

Animal Feed has been reported to have been tainted with Melamine and fed to Hogs & Chickens in the US.

I & others that I know of, have had unexplained Kidney Stones, blood in the urine and extremely high blood pressure which are to be known symptoms of Melamine. Is the CDC, WHO and FDA doing anything to identify, track and report these incidents?

China, now the "Bread Basket" of the World. When & how did we allow this to happen without strict regulations, Quality & Control, and Assurance from the FDA or the like.

Eating large quantities of protein (such as the *unbalanced* Atkins diet referenced earlier) is generally NOT safe for humans. Protein is hard on the kidneys of humans and animals alike, and you must overcompensate with large quantities of fluid to avoid affecting the kidneys.

Too much of *anything* is bad for you.

Moving along, my heart breaks for the parents of the deceased and ill children in China. I've buried a child and no one should have to see their child put into the ground.

Also just read on CNN that Cadbury has confirmed preliminary tests should melamine contamination in some of their chocolate products in other parts of the world (read: NOT the US) so they have voluntarily pulled 11 products from the market worldwide. Did anyone else know that Cadbury is owned or a sister company to Dentyne? (random thought)

Here's the deal, China put MELAMINE in those products on purpose. No "accidental" contamination. Im tired of stressing out about the lead in toys, asbestos in toys, and the other dangerous stuff that gets put in FOOD that we don't even know about. Almost everything we purchase is made in China and unless the government cracks down and starts testing a lot more than it does, I say we give Americans jobs and start making products in America.

I bet that Melmac was made in combination with Melamine. Those are the almost unbreakable plates most of us ate from for years.

Then they came up with an unbreakable plate that looked like glass or china. I bet it had Melamine, but don't know. I worry about it being in the plastics we buy drinks in. Colas, teas, tomato juice, orange juice, lemon juice and lemon aide and many fruit juiced have enough natural acid in them to cause part of the plastic containers they are in to dissolve a little. Then we drink them.

I heard a long time ago it isn't safe to drink tea with lemon from a plastic cup because it cause the plastic to dissolve. I don't know if they meant the soft cups at the fast food places or home plastic cups. Maybe both?

Mars, Inc. is also implicated in this melamine tainting mess, since the powdered milk they use in their Chinese factory is, obviously, of local origin. They insist their innocence even though the Indonesian investigative board has cited contamination in Oreos and other snack foods produced by them. FYI Mars, Inc. also makes pet food. One of the brands they make is Royal Canin. I just threw out my bags of M&Ms and Snickers.

This is a clear indication of global terrorism delivered as nutritional products. I am afraid that al qaeda will resort to this kind of campaign.

It is said that if you put 1 liter milk with some melamine and water, you can produce 4 liters of milk. And the protein test will show it is a high protein milk and pass the milk test.

Does melamine have any distinctive taste or smell so that a consumer can detect if it has been illicitly added to food or drinks?

...If melamine contained foods from china is being distributed all over the world, and USA is one of the biggest consumer of china made food products, being the most favored nation by US, as an evidence to this almost all we can find in the store from clothing to building materials, food, plastics you name it, comes from china, how safe are we here in the US noting that I have'nt heard of any agency from the US giving alarm to the public about this danger the chinese manufacturers pose to a kind of global threat regarding their products. What action does US is making locally and nationally. Are we safe? I'm just being concered.

Melamine is used in milk products just to boost the protein level. No wonder before putting melamine in, milk has a low protein content. People do it for the sake of money.

I have heard of milk contamination which has killed some babies, so i want to ask how does melamine gets into milk?

just a question, at the moment there is a big scare of Chinese baby milk powder. sadly many, many innocent babies are gravely ill or have died, not only in China but also in Hong Kong, the reason because the milk powder and milk (products) were mixed with melamine. melamine can be used in many forms, see kitchen utensils. am I right in thinking that dental prothesis are also partly melamine, or better phrased is melamine used in dental prothesis?

Please elaborate fully why melamine is used in milk, and their consequential side effects to us.

No one has probably considered the Wood Machinists who manufacture kitchens and other furniture such as worktops, office furniture,etc, that contain melamine. Their machinery uses industrial strength saw blades that get very hot AND give off a very fine dust, most of which cannot be seen even with the naked eye but which they MUST and DO breathe in. This dust that they breathe in all day and everyday must contain some melamine which may have have been changed by the heat of the blade.

Also they breathe in 'Wood Dust' which has been classified as CARCINOGENIC for years by the IARC. They don't know what element it is that makes it carcinogenic but it has been classified as such regardless. This was done using research into British wood workers who showed a high incidence of nasal cancers.

Our UK HSE and Unions are failing those who work in the wood trades by allowing employers to get away with either not insisting that wood workers wear masks at all or to provide inadequate dust masks i.e the flimsy DIY standard dust masks that some provide that are useless at filtering out the very fine dust that is produced by modern machinery.

This is killing and/or disabling our wood workers. Their lungs cannot rid themselves of the very fine dust so it sits there for many years causing cancers, respiratory disease, autoimmune disease, etc. Their illness will have a long latency period and will take many years to develop sometimes even up to approx. 40 years. May not even show symptoms until after they have retired. It may start as seemingly something quite minor such as a cough or cold that won't go away, even SINUS problems that keep reoccurring. By the time the victim becomes aware that they have an illness because of the dust they have breathed in for years it will be too late for many. Genetics as always plays a part and while many wood workers will come into contact they may suffer with different illnesses because of their genetics. It just needs that trigger. Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger.

Worse still is that they then take it home to their families on their clothes, hair and skin. Their wives/partners will inadvertently wash the contaminated clothing breathing in the dust as they gather it in to take it to the washing machine.

Families too and their homes are then contaminated by these toxic dusts, a dust that sometimes never settles it's so fine. Their illnesses are then not linked to this contamination but you only have to look at the cases where family members of those working with asbestos have been made ill too by asbestos fibers.

There are also the many other toxic chemicals found in wood composite boards such as MDF and chipboard/particle board, cement board, etc, which may also contain for example silica and formaldehyde also known carcinogenics. Off gassing is not the only problem from these boards. Silica is known to cause certain incurable autoimmune diseases.

I speak from direct experience and over two years constant research. I had to as no one else would help us.

My husband is a wood machinist working in the kitchen cabinet trade. We have both been made incurably ill by the wood dust and dust/toxins from the products he has been cutting over the 30+ years he has been in the trade. Our lives have been devastated. We are living a nightmare. Both on chemotherapy. Both lost our jobs because of our illness. We both suffer from the very same very rare form of autoimmune vasculitis 'Wegener's Granulomatosis'. Both diagnosed some years apart and didn't meet via a support group. We've together for 32 years and married for 27.

Experts in Wegener's say we may be the only husband and wife couple in the world to have Wegener's Granulomatosis and it's because of this, that Doctors, not us, are convinced that there has to be an environmental cause to our illness.

So the moral of the story is 'Wake up and smell the coffee or should I say the wood dust'. Breathing in any type of dust can and will kill one day. It's just a matter of when but it will be sooner than it should have been.

If people would do it to an animal they will do it to people. Think the case of the dog food, then moving on to humans proves this to be so. Who knows what is in the US food, you know the dog food companies surely would not let all that product go to waste. It is in the human food some where.

Dear witsend, use glass.

Can you guys imagine that people add urea in liquid fresh milk? Urea is rich of nitrogen. And it is cheaper than melamine. When the liquid milk is heated to become milk powder, the urea nitrogen is changed to melamine. That is why the milk powder is tainted by melamine. Isn't that talented? I think the next Nobel Prize should go for the creation and invention.

A baby boy was born on 28th July 2007 and died on 1st August 2008. He had been drinking the tainted milk for one year, and on the day he died, he was drinking it. Every one cried on hearing the tragedy.

Dear anon18239,

I would advise taking the milk back to the store for a refund. I WOULD NOT chance using it even if you cannot get a refund. Your life and health are too precious.

re pet food. ever since i gave my dogs dry shop food i alternate from 2 different suppliers since last year i alternate from 3 suppliers.some of the most expensive dog food was contaminated here last year.komani.

This type of thing seems to becoming the norm rather than the exception. People who knowingly do this kind of things to children need to be shot. I don't care if they're from China, USA, Europe or where ever. The companies who are poisoning babies with chemicals need to be shut down!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Vickie, What a horrible attitude you have towards Chinese people. I feel your bigotry in your writing They are good human beings, not 'these people' and what a crass and humanless attitude you have to state something like "Is this another way for them to curb the population?" How would you feel if it were your child at risk. I live in China and have a baby, who, fortunately did not drink this milk and your attitude just sickens me!! Nigel Jones

Can anyone please tell me how to identify melamine in liquid milk, if there is melamine in liquid milk? I got 30 packages of liquid milk left home, all produced before 14th September, and not sure if I should drink them or pour them out? So I need to know if there is melamine in the liquid milk. The Chinese government only said that liquid milk after 14th September is safe for drinking, but did not say anything about liquid milk produced before 14th September. If you know an easy way to test if there is melamine in liquid milk, could you please tell me as soon as possible? Thank you very much in advance.

Melamine has NO PROTEIN in it. It merely fools the common tests for measuring the level of protein in foods (tests that rely on measurements of the level of nitrogen).

"Melamine" in dishware, furniture, etc. refers to melamine resin which is fairly stable. Melamine resin is a product of reaction of melamine and formaldehyde and consequently is most likely not the melamine that is used in adulterated foods. The melamine used in the adulterated foods is most likely the unpolymerized (unreacted with formaldehyde in this case) melamine.

vickie,

instead of being silly, try to learn from the chemical information written above.

To Vickie, A lot of parents are devastated and it's very sad for those parents who lost their babies. Don't you have a heart to write something so horrible?

God bless you. Catherine

Talk about China making the cat/dog food with melamine in it to add protein. Now, 1200 infants are sick in China, some with kidney stones, from it being added to milk powder. How horrible. Don't these people learn, melamine kills, as an additive?

Is this another way for them to curb the population? Vickie

My parents had melmac dinnerware back in the early 1950's when I was just a child. Im now almost 55 years old and my wife and I have that same set my parents had and have used it daily for the past 30 years at home and raised our 3 boys with it as well and none of them or us for that matter have shown any signs of sickness or medical problems.

I have a strange question! My roommate's cat loves to eat adhesives.

He will eat anything with packing tape. He will puncture and start licking Elmer's glue and puncture the bottle with his teeth. He is well fed and relatively healthy, but I am wondering he is missing something in his diet?

I am wanting a material to use as a lid for a garden box. The position of the box gets a lot of sunshine and many materials warp in the heat. I will also need my material to be waterproof. Is Melamine the answer?

Many thanks Dee

Melamine was added, from what I understand, to pet foods because it was cheaper than protein and it has protein in it.

Re. melamine resin tableware, there has been research showing that both melamine and formaldehyde migrate out of the product when used with a mild acid (such as food acids?) and heated to sub 100 deg C (heating foods for children?). I was hoping to find that melamine resin tableware was a safer option than softer plastics (sources of xenoestrogens)... I wonder what melamine products do in hot dishwater ...

Re. melamine shelving, I would think that the particleboard core, being a source of formaldehyde outgassing (which seems to continue for the life of the product) is more of an issue for health than the melamine shell...

Melamine should not be confused with melamine resin. Melamine resin contains melamine in a manner similar to table salt containing chlorine.

While melamine is dangerous to ingest, melamine resin is not.

Melamine is the chemical that has been contaminating pet-food lately.

Melamine resin is the thermoplastic from which plastic-ware, counter-tops, etc are made.

I like to know the step by step manufacturing process of making melamine from urea and formaldehyde and glazing powder process. pls guide me with the required machinery details and the machinery manufacturer

I heard that melamine is used in the adhesive that holds paper coffee cups together and that, when hot liquid like coffee hits it, that it melts a little into the beverage. Are people really getting poisoned every time they drink from a paper cup?

You may find some further info on Melamine if you google it. There is information about out-gassing, which is often a concern for some these days. This is mostly for those who want to "go green" I believe is the term for using all natural materials in construction.

10-30-07

thePinkPanther

I am a General Contractor and am curious if melamine shelving poses any risks to my clients. Melamine products have become increasingly popular for closet organizers and shelving. One of my clients expressed concern about the toxicity of the material and I didn't know how to respond. Is it possible for toxins to "seep" out of the material, or must you ingest it to be of any harm? I fear the greatest danger would be to the carpenters that breathe the sawdust, but I would like to confidently assure my client that her new closet organizer won't be hazardous to her health. Thanks, Mike

Can someone please address the safety of melamine dishware, especially that made for infants?

i bought fish food containing melamine and with in a couple of hours my fish started to die. now how can this be safe when i called the manufacture they said this product was recalled 2 months ago but it is still on store shelves.

A week ago, my seven year old dog beloved Sheba, was put to rest after a brief diagnois of TOXIC RENAL FAILURE. Her Creatine level climbed to over 9.0 on her last day.

It's been a heart breaking event.

I have been overly insistent with FDA & the ISDH, insisting then to test the remaining product of dog treats, that are NOT on the recall list.

However, after numerous calls, there is a big box store out there that has pulled the product off the shelf, until testing of the product is completed. After I was told that there were several other complaints, and reports that were called in due to similar medical problems.

In my eyes, the source could only be these treats.

These from China.

They are the only ONE thing that was added to her diet, the week before.

Whose BRILLIANT idea was it to mix animal urine and formaldehyde together in order to make a product for human use? Simply put, this is sheer, intentional evil. I'm on a search for a simple, dual printer shelf and discover that most pieces are proudly labeled 'melamine laminated'. Scratch resistant yes, but my GOD. I wonder how much of this toxic material (and others) I already have in my home.

Sorry, I didn't want to sign up. As a past member of the FFA, When buying livestock for the fairs, we needed livestock that didn't have growth hormones or antibiotics. I grew up pretty sequestered, on a ranch, and was shocked to start to see what "our" government allowed on the market as "food" for human consumption. Now this. It sickens me that our own government allows this to happen. Formaldehyde, WTF??? Embalming fluid. My one last nerve is about to snap.

Kitty.

I have an article form the Cleveland Plain Dealer which says that an Ohio firm named Tembec (supposed to be an Industrial supply firm) has been selling melamine laden feed ingredients to Uniscope of Johnstown Colorado. This food has been consumed by livestock and fish in the U.S.

Of course we know that melamine is not perfectly safe for fish and mammals to eat. Don't we have a Pure Food and Drug Act?

What goes into an animal's body becomes dispersed amongst all tissues and contaminates their meat. The meat of our bodies then can come up with some strange responses because of that contamination. Where has common sense gone in our society when we allow people to eat PLASTIC RESINS. The free market system is way too free and other countries don't have OUR best interests at heart and it seems that even our own FDA has been turning it's head and allowing our food supply to be contaminated.

The American People deserve better than that. Where are the tax dollars going that are supposed to protect us against this? This is our right to a safe food supply, the most basic of rights.

Melamine tableware is good.

I heard a report that melamine, combined with other components of cat urine, formed crystals in their kidneys and ureters, leading to death. This contradicts the repeated references to ammonia toxicity as the culprit.

I also heard that melamine has now also been detected in farm-raised fish intended for human consumption. That now makes fish, poultry and pigs, all intended for human consumption, and which may, in fact, have already been consumed by humans, that have been tainted with this poison. The FDA and Dept. of Agriculture are obviously doing a lousy job of protecting the public health and safety.

The further irony exists that the Senate on Monday denied legislation that would have allowed the purchase of prescription drugs, at great savings in cost, from abroad. The rationale given was that the safety and quality of these drugs could not be assured, which seems ridiculous as they could be subject to the same scrutiny and testing as are domestic drugs. The undoubted truth behind this latest insult to the American public is the interests of the powerful drug lobby and the politicos it controls. I say ironic because these drugs, intended for use by a limited segment of the population, are denied entry into the country for alleged reasons of "safety", while food and food components from abroad that may affect significantly greater numbers of our population are allowed in, and with potential disaster the result.

I cannot even understand why America, "the world's breadbasket" should have to import products such as wheat gluten, considering our own "amber waves of grain" and capacity for food production, and the further irony that farmers are paid tax dollars NOT to plant crops.

Considering the incompetence and greed that pull the strings of our daily existence, the terrorists that would do us harm, it would seem, might just sit back and watch us do ourselves in! Heaven help us.

I have been consuming very large amounts of the most inexpensive protein powder (labeled as mostly from milk whey) that I bought either at Lindberg Nutrition or Trader Joe's. It was my primary source of protein and I was following an Atkins-like diet.

At the same time, my kidneys have been deteriorating enough to alarm my primary physician. I put one and one together and stopped taking the supplements. What do you know, my kidney function is improving.

I'm not saying that this proves there is anything wrong with these supplements, but I definitely think someone should buy some samples and test them.

It seems to me that if chickens consumed melamine tainted feed, once it enters their digestive system the chemical melamine would be broken down by enzymes, leading to the ammonia by-product. The ammonia then enters the blood steam and poisons the bird, or any other of the animals (pigs). So if a human ate a chicken or pig that ate malamine tainted feed there would actually be no melamine in the animals muscle tissues, perhaps a high concentration of NH4 in some vital organs. Of course this assumes melamine is h2o souluble and too large to freely pass digestive membranes.

What no one has stated on this site is that it is highly suspected that the Chinese Company most likely added the Melamine to boost the Protein content measurement in order to charge a higher price for a product that ( fraudulently ) had a higher Protein rating. A higher Protein rating equalled a higher profit for the company selling it - even though it did not have an actual higher Protein rating due to quality Meat or Vegetable components - but instead, from an Industrial Chemical used to "cheat the system."

It is also suspected ( has been stated ) that the Chinese Company did not label the Food Product as a Food Product - to avoid inspections as it went through the customs chain.

And lastly - The Chinese Food System is woefully inadequate in safety - and mass problems with sicknesses and food poisonings, etc... are actually quite common in China, sadly.

If the digestion of melamine results in ammonia, which is associated with renal failure, then why on Earth are we using it as human food additives? Hopefully, this tragic situation can open a lot of eyes!

my sons dogs went into kidney failure from the food, my pregnant dog ate it for 3 days while he was watching her, her puppies were deformed, out of the 3 one lived and to my astonishment, he has no eyes (anopthalimia) which is not conclusive but is said to be caused from pesticides, toxins, and chemicals.

Thanks for such a clear explanation! No newspaper article I read showed the connection between the melamine & renal failure.

If a human were to consume chicken or pork that is tanted by melamine, what type of side affects could be possible?

is melamine in rice gluten used at sushi bars

The FDA is saying Melamine is safe, but they do not know anything about it, so they say to keep eating the pork and chicken that they know it has gotten into. This has been happening since December or February, depending on who one talks with.

How can it be safe, if they do not know anything about it?

Yea, sure just keep eating and buying contaminated products... if it kills you or your kids, we are sure it could not be that, or could it?

I was prompted to look up melamine, leading me to your site, after reading an article today on the MSN.com website. Melamine has now been found in chicken feed at 38 farms in Indiana. The article presents that the chickens fed with the tainted feed have already been released into the human consumption market. Where these chickens were sent have not yet been determined and is still under investigation by the Department of Argriculture and the FDA. Now what?

My 6yr young healthy cat ate this tainted food and now we no longer have our beloved feline friend. Shame on the United States for letting this happen. Why don't we produce our own grains and rice. Why does everything have to be imported. This is the problem with this nation and why these things happen. And Shame on all these pet food companies for not buying American.

From A very angry pet owner

To the person who said their cat was coughing a lot - this is from a state of New York website: "There is no antidote for ammonia poisoning, but ammonia's effects can be treated, and most victims recover. People who experience serious signs and symptoms (such as severe or constant coughing, or burns in the throat) may need hospital care."

Here is the hard link: www.health.state.ny.us/environmental/ emergency/chemical_terrorism/ammonia_general.htm

The article pertains to someone who has swallowed a high concentration of ammonia, all at once, so this may not be related to a case where animals swallow a little. It seems to me, however, that the prudent thing to do would be to check with your vet. Hope this helps.

I own an independent pet supply store and it is becoming a MAJOR conceern about what to tell my customers to feed their pets. What is going on in this crazy society that we can not even be safe feeding our pets?

how can i tell what cookware has melamine in it

Does yogurt contain melamine?

What is the chemical or generic name of Melamine? How would it show on a food label such as power bar or high protein powder?

I am hearing rumors that menamine is used in food intended for human consumption. Specifically mentioned were power bars and high protein powders used by sports enthusiasts. Is there any truth in this?

Can melamine be removed from organic systems?

What is going on with the melamine in pig feed? Is this going to pose a threat to humans who eat pork from pigs that have eaten contaminated feed?

Royal Canin has just recalled several of its dry pet food containing rice protein concentrate, found also to be laced with melamine. Check their website.

The article is presumably incomplete because it doesn't explain HOW animals are being poisoned due to melamine. From other sources, when melamine is heated and nitrogen is released, at least two chemicals remain as a result of the heating: a muscle stimulant and AMMONIA. It's the ammonia that is heavily suspected to be the poison that is making animals ill and killing them. Animals that die from ingestions of melamine tainted substances have symptoms identical to ammonia poisoning.

Eyeball Kid.

How does Melamine effect cats, and is it deadly?

My cat eats the same type of food as the latest pet food intoxicated with melamine, Royal Canin. He has been coughing A LOT lately, and he never has before. Are the Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Dry Foods affected? If so, would Melamine be the cause for me cat's coughing? What can I do to help?

Is Melmine toxic for humans? I read the news about the contamination of melmine in some pet canned foods (I've no idea about the dry colored food, a lot of pets died (specially cats), China uses this melamine as herbicidal, and a wheta gluten batch was contaminated with that for that reason some pet food got contaminated, is safe to use melamine?

Isn't it melamine that is the culprit being found in the rice and wheat gluten of pet foods being recalled? I heard it was a poisonous fertilzer material but this does not sound like a fertilizer. Its causing kidney failure in our pets. Please comment.

Joanna

Is it possible for some "Melamine" kitchenware (i.e. plates, bowls, etc.) to be heat resistant enough to be washed in the dishwasher while other melamine kitchen ware can not?