In the last 20 years, there have been several instances of the contamination of melamine in food and feed products. Melamine is a widely used chemical for the production of melamine resin, most commonly for plastic materials. Scientific research has demonstrated that long-term or substantial consumption of melamine is toxic. Eurofins LabCo (Netherlands), a contaminants testing laboratory in the Eurofins Food & Feed testing network, announces the availability of the latest ISO and NEN methods to detect melamine and cyanuric acid in food and feed products.
Consuming melamine may cause damage to the reproductive system, among other side effects, making the detection of melamine in food and feed products very important. Recent contamination was found in food products that have been analyzed for protein content as an important quality indicator. For many protein analyses, the amount of nitrogen is used to calculate the protein content. Melamine consists largely of nitrogen. The addition of melamine therefore ensures a higher protein result with the usual protein analyses, however with major health risks as a result.
Melamine structure
Cyanuric acid
Cyanuric acid, a compound related to melamine, is not covered by current legislation. However, there is a lot of interest in this compound, as research shows that the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid in the body increases the toxicity of the individual compounds. Eurofins can also detect the presence of cyanuric acid as part of the analysis of melamine.
Cyanuric acid structure
Regulation
Maximum levels for melamine in food and feed are outlined in the food contaminant regulation (EC 1881/2006) and the regulation for undesirable substances in animal feed (EC 2002/32). The set maximum levels depend on the type of product and refer to melamine only. The inclusion of structurally related compounds, such as cyanuric acid, will be considered further down the line. The current limits are as follows:
Foodstuffs | Maximum levels (mg/kg) |
---|---|
Food with exception of infant formulae and follow-up formulae | 2,5 |
Powdered infant formulae and follow-up formulae | 1 |
Feedingstuffs | Maximum levels (mg/kg) |
---|---|
Feed | 2,5 |
Canned pet food (as sold) | 2,5 |
Feed additives, guanidino acetc acid (GAA) | 2,5 |
Analytical methods
Eurofins LabCo uses the latest accredited methods for the determination of melamine and cyanuric acid. For milk, milk products and infant formula, the method is based on ISO 23970:2021 | IDF 252:2021. For other food and feed products, the method is based on NEN-EN 16858:2017. By using the LC-MS/MS technique (Liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry), Eurofins LabCo offers fast turnaround times, with reports available in as little as six hours, if required.
The reporting limits are validated on very low levels. In milk powder and infant formula, our lowest reporting limits are 0.05 mg/kg for melamine and 0.1 mg/kg for cyanuric acid. The lowest reporting limits for other food and feed products are 0.05 mg/kg for melamine and 0.5 mg/kg for cyanuric acid. These reporting limits are far below the current maximum limits for food and feed products.
Relevant products
Melamine and cyanuric acid can be detected in a wide range of food and feed products. The following products are at risk of contamination:
- Milk and milk-based products, such as dairy products, milk powder, infant formula
- Cereals and derived products
- Animal feed
- Pet food
- Fishing and meat based products
- Spices & condiments
- Drinks
- Additives
- Egg and derived products
- Fruits and derived products
- Finished products
- Fatty products
Quality Assurance
Eurofins LabCo has a wealth of experience in contaminant analyses in food, feed and infant formula products. Since even a very low level of melamine or cyanuric acid can be toxic, you can rely on highly reliable results from Eurofins LabCo:
- Standard re-analysis and confirmation in case of any positive finding above detection limit and addition of reference sample
- State-of-the-art measuring equipment for high reliability
- Extensive validation performed a wide range of food and feed products, including infant formula, milk powder, condensed milk, full fat milk
- ISO17025:2017 accrediation of melamine and cyanuric acid in food/feed products
- Control sample added to each run
- Participation in various ring test programmes
Questions?
Would you like to receive more information about our new melamine and cyanuric acid analysis? Please contact us via: sales-food-nl@eurofins.com.
Publication date: 09-11-2022