Government Admits Melamine Is Not Safe

In a joint news release, the FDA and the USDA have said that the levels of melamine contained in pigs and chickens who were fed contaminated food is far below the dose considered to be safe.

There is very low risk to human health from consuming meat from hogs and chickens known to have been fed animal feed supplemented with pet food scraps that contained melamine and melamine-related compounds, according to an assessment conducted by scientists from five federal agencies.

In the most extreme risk assessment scenario, when scientists assumed that all the solid food a person consumes in an entire day was contaminated with melamine at the levels observed in animals fed contaminated feed, the potential exposure was about 2,500 times lower than the dose considered safe. In other words, it was well below any level of public health concern.

Wow, that's a pretty bold statement from two agencies that, in the past, have stated they weren't sure if melamine was dangerous to humans. So what are we to believe? Is it dangerous or isn't it? And, if it is harmful, what is the safe level for humans?

If the exposure to humans is 2,500 times lower than the dose considered safe, then they must have evidence that melamine is dangerous to humans, else there would be no need to recognize a "safe level".

But I'm not worried. Remember, three days ago, a USDA spokesman said it was "just about the animals".