In a bid to ensure that fertilizers don’t make their way to the food, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is all set to start testing six food ingredients which are imported from China.
FDA sprang into action after melamine, a chemical used as a fertilizer and also to make plastic, was found in wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, which are used in American pet food.
Last year, the USA imported 51.9 million pounds of wheat gluten, 112,500 pounds of cornmeal and 5 million pounds of soybean meal from China, apart from small quantity of corn gluten, rice protein concentrate and rice bran. In order to ensure there is no trace on melanin in these ingredients, FDA will test these at US ports of entry and at companies which import them.
FDA is taking no chance at all because the ingredients are used in baby formula, breads, cereals and vegetarian foods as well.
Michael Doyle, who is the director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, said even if melamine is found, there is not enough information about how dangerous it can be.
Doyle said
The big question is, if it is there, is it at a level that would be harmful?
FDA’s past experience says that melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is often added to grain products to make them look higher in protein than those actually are. In 1990, two owners of a Minnesota grain company had admitted selling adulterated wheat and were fined $250,000 each.