The 2007 melamine scandal involving pet food products, and the most recent 2008 melamine scandal involving dairy products are scary reminders of how some people can stoop so low just to earn more money. I mean, it’s terrible to manufacture a product that does not conform to the listed nutritional value, but it’s unforgivable to deliberately put something toxic in a food product.
Definition of Melamine:
“Melamine is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred, and has several other industrial uses. Melamine combines with cyanuric acid to form melamine cyanurate, which has been implicated in the Chinese protein export contaminations.” [Wikipedia | Melamine]
Toxicity of Melamine:
“Melamine by itself is nontoxic in low doses, but when combined with cyanuric acid it can cause fatal kidney stones due to the formation of an insoluble melamine cyanurate. Melamine is described as being “Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.” … FDA scientists explained that when melamine and cyanuric acid are absorbed into the bloodstream, they concentrate and interact in the urine-filled renal microtubules, then crystallize and form large numbers of round, yellow crystals, which in turn block and damage the renal cells that line the tubes, causing the kidneys to malfunction.” [Wikipedia | Melamine]
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