Infant formula containing melamine in the United States
In November, The Associated Press reported previously undisclosed FDA tests, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showing that out of 77 containers of domestic infant formula tested, a can of milk-based liquid Nestle Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron contained traces of melamine while Mead Johnson’s Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had traces of cyanuric acid.
The FDA has now updated its response to the AP’s FOIA request by posting results of 89 tests on its Web site. Those results show that two additional containers of Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had traces of cyanuric acid.
The Food and Drug Administration says the industrial chemical melamine and a byproduct cyanuric acid have now been detected in four of 89 containers of infant formula made in the United States, doubling previously reported positive results.
The contamination is extremely minute, at levels federal regulators say are safe for babies.
According to reports from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, the FDA found traces of melamine after testing infant formulas. The formula that tested positive for the chemical was Enfamil LIPIL with Iron. Nestle’s Good Start Supreme Infant Formula tested positive for a byproduct of melamine called cyanuric acid.
No formulas contained both chemicals which is what caused babies in China to get kidney stones in the earlier melamine incident. Also, unlike the deliberately tainted milk in China, the melamine in this case likely arises from contact during processing. The FDA maintains that these levels are extremely low and that the formula is completely safe for consumption. Only one of 87 samples tested came up with any trace.
Though melamine is not believed harmful in tiny amounts, higher concentrations produce kidney stones, which can block the ducts that carry urine from the body, and in serious cases can cause kidney failure.
To date, here are the FDA results for detections in U.S.made formula:
1.Two samples tested from one can of Mead Johnson’s Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had cyanuric acid at levels of 0.412 and 0.31 parts per million;
2.Three samples tested from one can of Mead Johnson’s Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had cyanuric acid at levels of 0.304, 0.406 and 0.248 parts per million;
3.Three samples tested from one can of Mead Johnson’s Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had cyanuric acid at levels of 0.247, 0.245 and 0.249 parts per million;
4.Two samples from a can of Nestle’s Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron detected melamine at levels of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million.
Before the contamination was disclosed, federal food regulators had said they were unable to set a safety threshold for melamine in infant formula. After the news reports, however, the agency set a threshold of 1 part per million of melamine in formula, provided a related chemical, including cyanuric acid, is not present. None of the formula has tested above that threshold.
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