Melamine found in Enfamil Lipil

[Anonymous]

It's everywhere - in laminate flooring, countertops, that Magic Sponge that I've used all over the house to remove pen marks on walls and furniture!

And yes, I'm certain if the FDA tests more food products, it would find traces of melamine everywhere. It's used in the cleaning process. So it's likely to come in contact with anything that's processed in a factory. I'm sure it's also in prepared baby foods.

And we've probably all been ingesting it for years now. As the FDA report stated, "Low levels of melamine are present in the environment and trace amounts may occur in certain food commodities as a result of approved uses."

[Anonymous]

Trace amounts as a result of cleaning products is one thing.

Animal feed that was deliberately adulturated with larger, non-trace amounts of melamine (to boost protein test results) is a different thing -- apparently prompting Nestle to recall infant formula as well as condensed milk in South Africa.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure we've been ingesting crap all our lives, but you would hope that your newborn-1 year old child could avoid poison in his/her formula. There has to be a way to control the process better even if it means formula becomes more expensive.
I don't feel it's OK to lower my standards for my baby even though I am a fairly laid-back person and usually wait to see how things play out before starting to panic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your post added nothing but another ounce of guilt that some formula feeders experience. Including myself. Hmmm...do I provide my baby BM even though I am undergoing chemo? or do I provide that nasty formula.

Nobody else can make you feel guilty. She's just sharing her experience. You're choosing to take it as a reason to feel guilty.

Keep doing the best you can and just let the rest go . . . .

[Anonymous]

What upsets me about this is that the FDA knew and did not tell us. I understand that they didn't want everybody to over react - which I admit I am. The amounts are VERY small, nothing like what happened in China. Nonetheless it makes me very angry that they chose to keep this a secret.

I think if I were a parent with a young baby on formula, I would keep using it right now. Alternatively I wonder if your pediatrician could help you do cows milk and vitamin supplements, like poly-vi-sol?

Even though we live in a time when there's all these toxins in our environment - in our food, water, air - in many ways I still think we are luckier and healthier than our ancestors. The trade off for the cheap, clean, plentiful food and milk we thrive on today has consequences. I'd still rather be raising my kids now than one or two hundred years ago, dealing with starvation, death by common illnesses, etc.

Ultimately life kills you. I'll take the odds now adays over the good old days anytime.

Also about China, I am wondering when the heck "made in China" will be the stamp of death for any product. We're shipping our wealth overseas in return for toys painted with lead and foods grown steeped in waste and pollution. How many more toothpaste-is-acutally-antifreeze scandals do we need before we give up this crap????

I used to love smoked oysters when I was younger.... until I realized they are from China. I don't eat anything labeled as coming from China anymore. The environmental problems over there are huge (one of the reasons their products are so cheap is the lax regulation on industry, including environmental regs).

This year I am buying my kid art supplies instead of toys for Xmas. Let's hope the non-toxic paints don't turn out to be poison shipped to us from China....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think if I were a parent with a young baby on formula, I would keep using it right now. Alternatively I wonder if your pediatrician could help you do cows milk and vitamin supplements, like poly-vi-sol?

(snip)

Also about China, I am wondering when the heck "made in China" will be the stamp of death for any product. We're shipping our wealth overseas in return for toys painted with lead and foods grown steeped in waste and pollution. How many more toothpaste-is-acutally-antifreeze scandals do we need before we give up this crap????

I used to love smoked oysters when I was younger.... until I realized they are from China. I don't eat anything labeled as coming from China anymore. The environmental problems over there are huge (one of the reasons their products are so cheap is the lax regulation on industry, including environmental regs).

This year I am buying my kid art supplies instead of toys for Xmas. Let's hope the non-toxic paints don't turn out to be poison shipped to us from China....

The thing is, the components i those Poly-Vi-Sol (and all other) vitamins VERY LIKELY came from China.

http://www.functionalingredientsmag.com/fimag/articleDisplay.asp?strArticleId=1562&strSite=FFNSite

This situation reflects a remarkable change in the market because vitamin C accounts for over 60 per cent of total export volume of Chinese vitamin ingredients every year and about 90 per cent of vitamin C used by US pharmaceutical, supplement and drink manufacturers is sourced from China.

In addition, if there is melamine residue in the cleaning products used to clean factory equipment, there will be trace amounts of melamine in your vitamis.

[Anonymous]

I often wonder how "evolved" how systems are now considering how much we've ingested over a lifetime. At the same time, I have a friend who swears that autoimmune diseases are on the rise; she herself suffers from a condition that is so rare that she's more than likely to become a case study in future medical texts. She believes it's from the chemicals in our environment.

Like the PP, I'm inclined to see where products are made before I purchase them, and anything made in China is off limits. I'd rather pay more for higher quality products - like wooden toys with non-toxic paints - than pay pennies for some plastic toy that was made in a factory that followed no regulations. What would the US do if most of us banned imported Chinese products?

[Anonymous]

We'd have to start manufacturing our own medications again.

Abd we'd pay more for everything -- no more WalMart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We'd have to start manufacturing our own medications again.

Abd we'd pay more for everything -- no more WalMart.

I guess there would be fewer injuries and less death if there were no Walmart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's everywhere - in laminate flooring, countertops, that Magic Sponge that I've used all over the house to remove pen marks on walls and furniture!

And yes, I'm certain if the FDA tests more food products, it would find traces of melamine everywhere. It's used in the cleaning process. So it's likely to come in contact with anything that's processed in a factory. I'm sure it's also in prepared baby foods.

And we've probably all been ingesting it for years now. As the FDA report stated, "Low levels of melamine are present in the environment and trace amounts may occur in certain food commodities as a result of approved uses."

This would explain why there has been an epidemic of pediatric kidney stones in the past few years, and no one has had a clue why it is happening. I believe melamine is known to cause kidney problems. I don't know about the rest of you, but this is NOT ok with me. I'm not willing to just accept that "we live in a toxic world". We as mothers need to DEMAND that this change. To begin with, I think Obama should fire everyone running the FDA- they are clearly not working to keep us safe. This is what happens when you have people in charge of regulation who really don't believe in regulation at all.

[Anonymous]

So this seems complete.We don't have any government agency looking out for the taxpayer; there's utter lack of regulation for the financial, physical, environmental, other well-being of the average citizen. It seems to justcome downto protecting industries.

[Anonymous]

I just realized that all the cute children's plates, bowls and silverware that I bought at Target and Pottery Barn Kids all have the word melamine stamped on the bottom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just realized that all the cute children's plates, bowls and silverware that I bought at Target and Pottery Barn Kids all have the word melamine stamped on the bottom.

Yes, I'm now wondering about these, too. You can't microwave them as I believe it breaks down the materials. But I do now even worry about daily use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just realized that all the cute children's plates, bowls and silverware that I bought at Target and Pottery Barn Kids all have the word melamine stamped on the bottom.

Yes, I'm now wondering about these, too. You can't microwave them as I believe it breaks down the materials. But I do now even worry about daily use.

I'm also worried b/c I put them in my dishwasher on the highest settings - and they get scratched, etc. I'm throwing them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This would explain why there has been an epidemic of pediatric kidney stones in the past few years, and no one has had a clue why it is happening. I believe melamine is known to cause kidney problems.

Here's the link to a recent NY Times article about the increase in pediatric kidney stones. According to their research, one of the main culprits is the increased salt that children eat these days. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/health/28kidn.html?scp=1&sq=kidney%20stones&st=cse

As for those above who think they can avoid environmental contaminants by buying wooden toys made in the U.S. and avoiding anything labelled "Made in China," you're kidding yourselves. Today's economy is unbelievably global. Many, many, many products we use and foods we eat contain ingredients produced in China or other countries with similarly lower regulatory standards than the United States. And no, most of them are not labelled as such. I agree with the PP who noted that a majority of vitamins are produced in China or contain Chinese inputs. Same for many other medicines, as well.

If you're truly interested in doing something about this, throwing out your melamine bowls and buying a few new toys won't cut it. Better to educate yourself about the global economy and learn how to support an organization that lobbies Congress for stricter product and food/drug regulations.

On that note, does anyone have any suggestions about appropriate organizations or routes to influence law makers on this issue?