Trace Amounts of Melamine Found in U.S. Baby Formula

FDA tests have found trace amounts of melamine in baby formula sold in the U.S. FDA says the levels were so low in that sample that there is no risk to babies, and there's no reason for concern, but some parents find it troubling that any amount of melamine could be found in baby formula.

Thousands of babies in China became ill earlier this year after drinking melamine-contaminated formula. Some babies in China even died as a result of the tainted formula. The melamine levels in the Chinese formula were much higher, and the problem was widespread. Melamine was added deliberately to the Chinese formula to mask inadequate protein content. About.com Babies & Toddlers Guide Stephanie Brown also notes that the Chinese incident differs from the current U.S. formula issue because none of the U.S. formulas tested contained both melamine and cyanuric acid, which is what caused the most serious health problems for the Chinese babies.

The melamine found in the U.S. formula was likely a result of the manufacturing process or something that came into contact with the can, but it was not deliberate contamination, FDA spokeswoman Judy Leon told Reuters. It is possible for melamine to get into our food through manufacturing, sometimes through residues from cleaning products used on equipment, or from food packaging that contains melamine.

According to the first statements from FDA, the small amount of melamine in the U.S. baby formula was in only one sample. However, an Associated Press (AP) article revealed that a chemical relative of melamine was found in another baby formula sample from another manufacturer, and a third manufacturer told AP that their own tests had found trace amounts of melamine in their baby formula, too. Nestle USA, Mead Johnson Nutritionals (Bristol-Meyers Squibb) and Abbott Nutrition are the major players in the U.S. baby formula industry. These three companies make more than 90 percent of the formula sold in the U.S.

Though they initially did not identify the manufacturers or brands of the affected formulas, FDA now reports that melamine was found in powdered Enfamil LIPIL with Iron (Mead Johnson), and the chemical relative, cyanuric acid, was found in Nestlé's Good Start Supreme with Iron. Both manufacturers say their tests don't show melamine in their baby formulas, and Nestle USA told the Wall Street Journal that their formula did not contain cyanuric acid. Mead Johnson has since released a statement saying that the reports that Enfamil Lipil contained melamine in any amount were incorrect.

FDA recently implemented new, more sensitive tests for melamine in foods such as baby formula, but they haven't fully determined yet what levels of melamine pose a risk to babies. FDA has previously said it was unable to establish a level of melamine or related chemicals that did not raise public health concerns. Though many interpreted this to be a zero-tolerance policy for melamine in baby formula, FDA now says it meant more study was necessary to establish an acceptable level, and not that U.S. baby formula would be 100 percent free of melamine.

That doesn't instill much confidence for parents who feel that any melamine is too much for a baby, though. One mother I spoke to said, "for my baby, the acceptable amount of melamine is zero parts per million."