FDA finds traces of melamine in US infant formula -IIl
According to FDA data for tests of 77 infant formula samples, a trace concentration of melamine was detected in one product — Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron. An FDA spreadsheet shows two tests were conducted on the Enfamil, with readings of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million.
Three tests of Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron detected an average of 0.247 parts per million of cyanuric acid, a melamine byproduct.
The FDA said last month that the toxicity of cyanuric acid is under study, but that meanwhile it is "prudent" to assume that its potency is equal to that of melamine.
And while the FDA said tests of 18 samples of formula made by Abbott Laboratories, including its Similac brand, did not detect melamine, spokesman Colin McBean said some company tests did find the chemical. He did not identify the specific product or the number of positive tests.
McBean did say the detections were at levels far below the health limits set by all countries in the world, including Taiwan, where the limit is 0.05 parts per million.
"We're talking about trace amounts right here, and you know there's a lot of scientific bodies out there that say low levels of melamine are always present in certain types of foods," said McBean.
Mead Johnson spokeswoman Gail Wood said her company's in-house tests had not detected any melamine, and that the company had not been informed of the FDA test results, even during a confidential agency conference call Monday withinfant formula makers about melamine contamination.
The FDA tests also detected melamine in two samples of nutritional supplements for very sick children who have trouble digesting regular food. Nestle's Peptamen Junior medical food showed 0.201 and 0.206 parts per million of melamine while Nestle's Nutren Junior-Fiber showed 0.16 and 0.184 parts per million.
The agency said that while there are no established exposure levels for infant formula, pediatric medical food — often used in feeding tubes for very sick, young children — can have 2.5 parts per million of melamine, just like food products other than infant formula.
The head of manufacturing for Nestle Nutrition in North America, Walter Huber, said in an interview that the company took samples alongside FDA officials who visited a manufacturing plant, and that those samples showed similar results to what FDA found for the two pediatric medical foods. Huber added that Nestle didn't fund cyanuric acid in any of the samples.
The FDA shared its results with Nestle a few weeks ago, Huber said. He said he wasn't sure whether Nestle had tested other of its products beyond what it did related to the FDA.
"The FDA should be insisting on a zero-tolerance policy for melamine in domestic infant formula until it is able to determine conclusively based on sound independent science that the trace levels would not pose a health risk to infants," DeLauro said.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., a frequent critic of the FDA, said: "If no safe level of melamine has been established for consumption by children, then the FDA should immediately recall any formula that has tested positive for even trace amounts of the contaminant."
Several medical experts said trace concentrations would be diluted even in an infant, and are highly unlikely to be harmful.
"It's just a tiny amount, it's very unlikely to cause stones," said Stanford University Medical School pediatrics professor Dr. Paul Grimm.
Continue to Melamine in seafood from China(1) Alarms should go off when a patient presents with difficulties in urine and sensory loss in the buttock region. Other warning signs are the decreased sphincter tone and the motor and sensory loss in the left leg accompanied by acute worsening of backache.
(2) Cauda equina syndrome is caused by narrowing of the spinal canal: nerve roots become trapped and start to dysfunction. The array of symptoms can guide the investigator to the level of compression.
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(4) Start by taking an accurate history and a clinical examination to narrow the differential diagnosis. You should already suspect the diagnosis of central disc prolapse. Magnetic resonance imaging is the best diagnostic investigation because it can depict soft tissues. Consult the orthopaedic or neurological surgeon immediately for further treatment.
(5) The magnetic resonance image in the figure1 shows a massive herniated disc at the level of L4-L5 into the spinal canal. This view also shows some bulging of the disc at the level of L3-L4 and minor discopathy in the adjacent levels.
(6) Cauda equina syndrome to central disc prolapse at the level of L4-L5.
(7) The suspected diagnosis of central disc prolapse causing cauda equina syndrome is an investigative and surgical emergency. Surgical decompression should be performed as soon as possible to stop further neurological loss and improve clinical outcome. 1 2 3. The preferred method of decompression is laminotomy and partial discectomy.
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