The main reason why people know of melamine as a substance all around the world is because of its high tensile strength as a plastic resin, when combined with formaldehyde. It was used extensively to manufacture plastic dinnerware. Recently it has been found in varying amounts in various dogs, cattle and other domestic animals.

Since most of these animals do not eat plastic, a natural question arises as to how the hell did melamine get into the food chain?

There are two answers to this question.

The first reason is that during the late 1950s, melamine was identified as a potential source of non-protein based nitrogen for cattle. What you may not know is that protein contains huge amounts of nitrogen and that cattle are herbivorous, therefore, alternate sources of nitrogen have always been sought for cattle and other herbivorous animals. It was only in 1978 that scientific studies revealed that melamine was a potentially dangerous substance for consumption. By that time, melamine had already been used as a source of nitrogen and consumed by cattle and other animals. The beef, milk and other edible products all introduced melamine into the food chain.

Another reason for melamine usage in food products, especially those for dogs and cats is the fact that two of the most common tests for checking the nitrogen content and the overall quality standards of processed food, fail to detect melamine. Kjedahl and Dumas are the names of these two tests and manufacturers have been known to introduce melamine into their processed food illegally to get the nitrogen levels and therefore the supposed protein levels, to the desired value. Melamine is the cheapest source of nitrogen and can easily mix with processed food items.

This practice is wide-spread in places such as China as evidenced by the widespread recalls over the past couple of years of everything from baby milk to pet foods.

While the Kjedahl method is known for its portability and ease of operation, it is not a very accurate method to account for protein content. The synthesis of food items being tested by this method often skips the non-protein nitrogen content, which means that chemicals such as melamine go unnoticed. Some additions are being made to this method to ensure that the true protein content is estimated and also to check the content of possible toxic methods. The new method being developed is called the New Kjedahl method, and is under testing.

The Dumas test is also based on the same principle concept as the Kjedahl method- estimation of protein based on the quantity of nitrogen content and therefore, this method also fails to detect the use of non-nitrogen protein content, and thus melamine content in the food.

To protect yourself and your pets make sure you buy products that are manufactured under strict controls or even better, make them yourself!

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