Melamine food contamination: Relevance to Canadian children

Abstract

Melamine came to public attention in 2007, following reports of acute renal failure in cats and dogs through consumption of contaminated pet food (1). In 2008, reports from China began to emerge of at least 150 cases of renal failure and six confirmed deaths in young children among more than 300,000 with urinary tract ailments as a result of melamine contamination in Chinese infant formula. Fortunately, no related cases in Canadian children have been reported thus far, and no evidence of intentional melamine contamination has occurred in any other country. Infant formula manufactured in China is not approved in Canada, and formula companies do not use milk ingredients from China in the manufacture of Canadian formula (2). There has, however, been a recall of imported Chinese food products including candies, cookies and coffee drinks because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found concentrations of melamine in them that were above the established tolerance concentration of 2.5 parts per million (ppm) (2).