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Melamine contamination

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Abstract

In the summer of 2008, serious illnesses and deaths of babies in China were linked to melamine-tainted powdered infant formula. Melamine contains several metabolites, such as ammeline, ammelide, and cyanuric acid, and has been used for the adulteration of foods or milk to increase their apparent protein content. It is assumed that melamine and its metabolites are absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, and precipitate in the kidney to form crystals. A new tolerable daily intake of 0.2 mg kg−1 body weight was adapted by the World Health Organization in 2008. This paper reviews the variety of analytical methods that have been used for the analysis of melamine in food. The limit of detection of these various methods is 0.05–100 ppm. The maximum acceptable concentration in food has been set at 50 ppb by the US FDA. A fast and ultrasensitive procedure for screening, detection, and characterization of melamine and its derivative compounds needs to be established. Currently, mass-spectrometry technologies provide an alternative to derivatization for regulatory analysis of food.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to S. Sheldon (ASCP) of the Edmond Medical Center Laboratory (USA) for fruitful discussions. This work was supported by research grants Q097004 from the Kaohsiung Medical University Research Foundation and NSC96-2321-B-037-006, NSC97-2320-B-037-012-MY3 from the National Science Council, Taiwan, Republic of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100 Shi-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan

    Yu-Chang Tyan & Shiang-Bin Jong

  2. National Sun Yat-Sen University - Kaohsiung Medical University Joint Research Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Yu-Chang Tyan & Jentaie Shiea

  3. Center of Excellence for Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100 Shi-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan

    Yu-Chang Tyan

  4. Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, 70 Lienhai Rd, Kaohsiung, 804, Taiwan

    Ming-Hui Yang & Jentaie Shiea

  5. Department of Medicinal and Applied Chemistry, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Chih-Kuang Wang

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  1. Yu-Chang Tyan
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  2. Ming-Hui Yang
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Correspondence to Yu-Chang Tyan or Ming-Hui Yang.

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Tyan, YC., Yang, MH., Jong, SB. et al. Melamine contamination. Anal Bioanal Chem 395, 729–735 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-3009-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-3009-0

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