Researchers developed a rapid method for detecting pure melamine in milk powder, after several thousand babies in China became ill after being fed formula powder contaminated with the chemical.
It is possible that melamine accumulates in the body and causes toxicity problems, damaging the kidneys and forming stones.
Professor Bingren Xiang and his student Chenghui Lu at the China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, used near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and showed that it is feasible to examine milk powder rapidly and non-destructively with a detection limit lower than 1ppm.
This accuracy compares favourably with the present US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limit for melamine in milk products of no more than 2.5ppm, and with the provisional limits announced by the Chinese government for melamine in adult milk products of no more than 2.5ppm and in infant milk products of no more than 1ppm.
Their method is detailed in their publication in the latest edition of the Journal of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (JNIRS).
