Melamine Dangers

Melamine is a substance used to make kitchenware items. In chemistry, it is considered an organic compound. It is used for cooking items mainly because it is heat resistant. When it is combined with another substance, formaldehyde, it forms melamine resin, which is fire resistant. It is used in several products such as floor tiles, whiteboard and fabric. Yet, despite all the advantages the product offers, it also has some serious risks and dangers.

Melamine as a Protein Additive

• Melamine is used by some companies as substitute or filler for protein, which creates a number of problems. Milk is tested for its protein content in part by checking nitrogen levels. Melamine can increase the content of nitrogen to make it appear as if a product has protein in it. In other words, in some places, melamine can easily be used as a food adulteration product to unnaturally boost the levels of nitrogen and pass it off as protein. One example of this occurred in 2008, when melamine was found in baby formula made in China and imported to the US. When melamine is used this way, it makes the milk impure and less nutritious, especially to children. More tragically, exposure to the high levels of nitrogen has caused death in some children.

Urinary and Digestive Problems

• Research conducted at the National University of Singapore suggests that, when used continuously over many years, melamine can cause problems of the urinary tract. It can also cause gallbladder stones. The typical symptoms of this condition include pain in the stomach and difficulty urinating.

Other Dangers

• Melamine can also cause a host of other problems. The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), a document that is mandated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for every consumable product for safety, states that melamine is "harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin." It goes on to say that "chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage," and it labels melamine as an "eye, skin and respiratory irritant." This explains why hundreds of pets lost their lives in the US in 2007 when melamine found its way into pet food. Singapore University also confirms that the ingestion of melamine may cause cancer, as research has shown that rats who were administered this substance developed carcinoma.