So Clever: How Do They Get Melamine Into Eggs

Almost 50,000 Chinese infants were hospitalized for melamine toxicity from infant milk products. Now, eggs are being pulled from supermarkets across China, and Chinese fisheries are being inspected for possible melamine contamination.

It seems that besides being added to dairy products, melamine has also been added to animal feed.

The practice of mixing melamine into animal feed is an "open secret" in the industry, the Nanfang Daily reported Thursday, describing a process of repackaging melamine scrap into an inexpensive product called "protein powder," which is then sold to feed suppliers.

...Four brands of Chinese eggs have been found to be contaminated with melamine this past week, and agriculture officials speculated that the cause was adulterated feed given to hens. No illnesses have been linked to melamine in eggs.

...Chemical plants used to pay companies to treat and dispose of melamine scrap, but about five years ago began selling it to manufacturers who repackaged it as "protein powder," the Nanfang Daily reported, citing an unidentified chemical industry expert.

The inexpensive powder was first used to give the impression of higher protein levels in aquatic feed, then later in feed for livestock and poultry, the report said. _AP

Many consumers are unaware that most processed food contains a wide range of ingredients, many of which may come from low-priced Chinese wholesalers of food concentrates. As the dragnet for melamine widens it is quite likely that some widely consumed western brands contain the contaminant via "no-name" low cost ingredients from Chinese distributors. Fortunately, most of these western brands are unlikely to contain the high concentrations of the contaminant that were present in Chinese baby formulas.