In addition to the melamine found in dairy products made in China, Chinese media now reports that the contamination has also been found in vegetables throughout the country.
“Recently, experts have investigated and confirmed that melamine has also been found in lettuce, water cress, tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes and other agricultural products. There is 17 milligrams (0.000037 lbs) of melamine per kilogram (2.20 lbs) of mushrooms,” reports China’s Economics And Finance (Cai Jing) magazine.
The report said that it is common practice to add melamine—a chemical toxin that contributes to boosting the nutritional profile of food products—into livestock feed in China. It also found that sodium nitrite and other cancer-causing chemicals were added to feed during production.
The report pointed out that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in 2007 that the pesticide cyromazine could produce melamine when it began to decompose. This could explain why vegetables treated with cyromazine later contained traces of melamine.
“In most cases, melamine and other chemicals discharged by the manufacturer are all added into the feed. Other components found in the Chinese feed include urea, ammonia, silica, potassium nitrate, sodium nitrite, glacial acetic acid, activated carbon materials and more. Sodium nitrite is a carcinogenic substance recognized by the international community,” said the Finance report.
The report added that there are 1,500 different chemicals that are commonly used as food additives in China, yet only 250 are currently allowed by national standards. Criticism falls on the country’s food safety management system, which many argue are more concerned with protecting industry interests than public health.
