WASHINGTON, Nov 29, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration says trace amounts of melamine and other toxic chemicals found in
infant formula tests are considered safe.
FDA officials Friday released some of the results of a nationwide testing effort
undertaken in the wake of September's Chinese infant formula scandal, in which
high levels of melamine found in infant formula were linked to health problems
in Asia, CNN reported.
The results showed two samples of Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula
with Iron tested positive for melamine at levels of 137 and 140 parts per
billion. But those levels were far below the melamine amounts found in Chinese
formula and are considered safe, Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's director of the
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said in a statement.
"Amounts of the industrial chemical melamine or the melamine-like compound
called cyanuric acid that are below 1 ppm (1,000 parts per billion) do not raise
public health concerns," CNN quoted Sundlof saying.
Tests also found three samples of Mead Johnson's infant powder, Enfamil LIPIL
with Iron, with trace levels of cyanuric acid at an average of 247 parts per
billion, the broadcaster said.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International