www.safetyissues.com: FDA Sets Melamine Tolerance Levels

FDA Sets Melamine Tolerance Levels
================================================================================
Staff writer for safetyissues.com on 10/02/08 07:32:00
 
The federal health officials set this tolerance level in its interim safety and
risk assessment report on melamine and melamine-related compounds present in
food. Such assessments estimate the risk to health as a result of exposure to
particular compounds.
In as far as infant formula and baby foods are concerned, the FDA set a
zero-tolerance level: no amount of melamine, however infinitesimal, can be
considered safe.
The FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition says there is not enough
information that can be used to establish an acceptable level for infant formula
below which there will be no concern of risk to public health.
But for food products other than infant formula, FDA believes there is enough
basis to justify establishing the tolerance level at the maximum of 2.5 parts
per million. The agency says this is like having one million grains of sand
where all of them are white but two or three are black.
The FDA ruling will guide government inspectors when they check for
contaminated foods in Asian stores around the country and in shipments from
China offloaded at ports of entry.
Inspections have been tightened across the country because of
melamine-contaminated infant formula that has sickened over 54,000 children in
China and caused the death of at least four infants due to kidney problems. The
chemical has also been detected in candies, chocolates, and coffee drinks sold
in Asian markets.
Last week, authorities recalled China-produced White Rabbit candies after
samples in California and Connecticut were found positive for melamine. The
candies had melamine levels of 520 parts per million, which was 208 times higher
than FDA’s level for tolerable risk.
The tolerable risk level set Friday does not mean FDA any deliberate attempts
to adulterate food products with melamine. It is meant only to account for
situations that may result in accidental contamination. Plastic dinnerware and
Formica countertops, for example, contain melamine and very small amounts of the
chemical may come into contact with food.
Melamine in food can lead to formation of kidney stones, as the body has
difficulty eliminating it. In some cases, kidney failure and death may result.
There have been no reports of melamine-related illness in the U.S. The FDA
assures consumers that infant formula made in the country is safe, because the
FDA-approved manufacturers do not import ingredients from China.
Safety Tip:
* Use only infant formula from FDA-approved companies.