Melamine Found in U.S.-Made Infant Formula

U.S. health officials have uncovered trace amounts of the chemical melamine in one sample of infant formula mad and sold in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration reported yesterday.

The FDA also found melamine in a few samples of nutritional supplements and medical supplements, all made by the five U.S. manufacturers of infant formula. The agency said the melamine detected was at extremely low levels and likely was the result of contact with the contaminant during the processing or from packaging.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the FDA said it tested products from the nation's five FDA-approved makers of milk-based infant formulas: Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Nestle SA's Nestle USA unit, PBM Products LLC, and Solus Products LLC.

Since Oct. 10, FDA has had an import alert in place for specific products found contaminated with melamine and melamine-related compounds. As part of its ongoing strategy to address the present problem with melamine contamination of consumer products exported from China, FDA earlier this month expanded its import controls on Chinese dairy products, and food and feed products manufactured in China that contain dairy ingredients.

On September 12, the FDA issued a Health Information Advisory to reassure consumers that there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell such products in the United States. No Chinese manufacturers of infant formula have yet fulfilled these requirements, according to the agency.
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