FDA sets melamine safety threshold

FDA officials said that the only exception for zero tolerance is for melamine
in baby formula, which has sickened more than 54,000 infants in China. The
agency said it was unable to determine what a safe amount of melamine in formula
might be.

The FDA set 2.5 parts per million as the maximum “tolerable”
amount of melamine that could be safely consumed in other foods. But Rosa
DeLauro, head of a House subcommittee that oversees FDA funding, criticized the
agency for saying there could be safe levels of melamine in foods.

“While
other countries throughout the world, including the European Union, are acting
to ban melamine-contaminated products from China, the FDA has chosen to
establish an acceptable level for melamine in food in an attempt to convince
consumers that it is not harmful,” DeLauro said in a statement.

“Not
only is this is an insult to consumers, but it would appear that the FDA is
condoning the intentional contamination of foods.” The FDA guidelines were
issued to help federal and state investigators checking for contaminated Chinese
products as they enter the country and in Asian grocery stores.

Stephen
Sundlof, FDA’s director for food safety and applied nutrition said the agency’s
goal is to identify products with potentially dangerous levels of melamine,
rather than to find each small instance of contamination.

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