Video: Trace levels of melamine found in infant formula

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SEATTLE – Baby formula containing melamine, which has sickened tens of thousands of infants in China, has been found in the United States.

However, the Food and Drug Administration says there is no cause for concern because the one positive sample had very low trace levels in one U.S.-made formula.

The director for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition says the formula may have picked up the melamine by coming in contact with containers or machinery which are made from plastics containing the substance.

Last year, Americans became aware of the industrial chemicals when melamine-tainted pet food began making scores of dogs and cats extremely ill.

This year, tens of thousands of Chinese infants got sick. Four died after drinking milk illegally fortified with melamine. Chinese officials say rogue dairies used melamine to boost the protein level of the formula to get a better price on the market.

Registered infant diet specialist Joan Zerzan of the University of Washington Medical Center warns parents not to abandon formula since it’s crucial for their baby’s health.

“What is allowed in this country is at the level that infants aren't going to consume those kinds of volumes. And what was found in these formulas in China and other countries was hundreds of times those levels,” said Zerzan.

The FDA also found melamine in nutritional supplements and medical supplements made in the U.S. by the five U.S. manufacturers of infant formula.

The FDA has new technology that is very sensitive to minute amounts of melamine. Since the late 1960’s, small amounts of melamine in food and formula have been allowed because the chemical is everywhere. You can pick it up just by having your food touching a container made of plastic or resin containing melamine.