“Last fall thousands of babies in China were hospitalized after drinking formula contaminated with melamine. Shortly thereafter, melamine contaminated foods were popping up all over the globe, from cookies in the UK to candy in Connecticut. The issue really hit home when the US FDA found American infant formulas tainted with the contaminant in late November. Parents were outraged. For a while. And then the issue just seemed to drop off the radar.
But it’s back.
Canadian health officials just found, once again, infant formula contaminated with melamine. And their theory of where that contamination is coming from is rather unexpected. According to Science News:
Chemists with Health Canada in Ottawa report they have yet to identify the source of the pollutant they’ve just turned up in 71 of 94 samples of infant formula. In a report of their findings, however, just published online ahead of print in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Sheryl Tittlemier and her colleagues do finger one key suspect: the insecticide cyromazine. It’s legal for use on food crops and animal forage — and melamine is one of its breakdown products.
So, the milk is tainted because the cows are tainted because the food the cows are eating is sprayed with a pesticide that breaks down into melamine. It makes a pretty good argument for organic dairy farming.
Still, it is important to note that the melamine levels detected were far below levels both the FDA and Health Canada have established as safe. In fact, Tittlemier’s group calculated that a baby’s ingestion of melamine would only come to about 1 percent of the allowable intake even if consuming the most contaminated product.
But this is just one source of exposure.
On the other side of the globe, melamine tableware is causing a stir with public health officials. According to The China Post:
In [a] recent experiment, all tableware made of melamine resin tested positive for melamine release, Wang said, warning that consumers should not use such products for hot food or for microwaving. Wang also urged melamine tableware manufacturers to clearly label their products with the warning that they “should not be used in microwave ovens, ” and to remind consumers not to use them for hot food or drink..”
The Taiwan News picked up on the story, as well, stating:
“Melamine levels in the plates, bowls and spoons reached values as high as 20 parts per million, far higher levels than recorded in foods…In daily use, the toxic can be released when the material comes in contact with hot food such as soup or when it is scratched.”
While it has been known for some time that melamine leaches from the plastic resin, the levels they’ve found are very concerning. And, even though it’s happening half way around the world, consider where many of our consumer goods come from.
Simultaneously, The Jakarta Globe in Indonesia just released a report regarding formaldehyde leaching from melamine tableware (formaldehyde is the other chemical combined with melamine to make the plastic resin). According to them:
Health officials warned on Monday that tableware made with melamine resin may release formaldehyde, a potential health hazard, under certain conditions.
Roland Hutapea, the BPOM’s director for hazardous substance control, said long-term exposure to formaldehyde could cause kidney failure, bladder damage and cancer, and could eventually lead to death. “The safest way for now, as we still have no way to guarantee product safety, is to avoid using any melamine [resin] tableware with heat, acid or water,” he said. Husniah said that without a lab test, it was almost impossible to differentiate safe tableware from products that might release formaldehyde.
As I said back in the fall when we covered this issue,
”At Healthy Child, we simply and fundamentally believe it’s better to be safe than sorry – especially when the exposure is completely unnecessary. If you have melamine dishes for your kids, perhaps it’s time to retire them to the pretend kitchen play set, a decorative shelf on the wall, the craft supplies cupboard, the bath tub, or the sandbox. Opt for dishware that is made from glass, ceramic, bamboo, stainless steel, or safer plastics (which I’m starting to question even exist).”
What about the formula? It doesn’t seem quite as worrisome as the tableware since the levels are so low. But, organic dairy clearly appears to be a safer farming method for producing a cleaner product. Unfortunately, the recession is 
crippling the organic dairy industry and farms are folding across the country. Vote with your dollar to keep organic dairy farms afloat. Buy organic milk.”
Courtesy of Healthy Child Healthy World: a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit inspiring parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals.
If you’re ready to replace your plastic or melamine children’s dishes with something completely non-toxic, I can recommend our tempered glass dishwear from Kidishes, available at EuphoriaBaby.com. We’ve been using them at home, and they’re so convenient. In the dishwasher, microwave and at the table, they wear and wash so well!
. Spring cleaning, here I come!
