Melamine Dinnerware Safety

When melamine, an organic chemical compound, is combined with formaldehyde, it creates melamine resin. The resin can be molded as dinnerware; it dries into a hard plastic that is nearly unbreakable.

Toxicity

• Melamine resin dinnerware is not toxic. But if pure melamine has been added to food and is ingested it can cause kidney stones and even renal failure, which can lead to death.

Food Safety

• A test conducted by the Indonesian National Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, and reported in the Jakarta Globe, found that some melamine dishes release formaldehyde when used to serve hot, watery or acidic foods. The report states that it is impossible for consumers to know which dishes do release formaldehyde and which do not.

Microwave Ovens

• Journalist Andrew Schneider reported that a Korean study found that formaldehyde is released from some melamine dishes when they are heated in a microwave. Heating melamine dishes in a microwave can also cause them to warp or crack.

Damage

• While melamine dinnerware is very strong, it can become cracked, nicked or warped over time. Damaged dishes are not suitable for serving food.

Care

• The heat in a dishwasher can cause melamine dishes and utensils to buckle and warp. Melamine dinnerware should be hand washed.