Chinese now admit that addition of melamine to food is common practice

On April 20th, a poll on this site asked if viewers felt that the contamination was intentional, and the results are a definite "yes". Now the New York Times confirms what many have been suspecting regarding the pet food recall: that the melamine contamination in pet food is intentional. According to sources in the China, the addition of nitrogen-rich melamine is often added to foods to boost the protein content. Protein content is measured by the amount of nitrogen, not the quality of protein. This "fake protein" elevation brings higher prices at the market.

The effects of this practice is widespread and growing beyond "just" pet food -- human food is at risk, too. The use of melamine in food is prohibited in the United States, but many items, such as wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate and others are imported as ingredients in foods produced in the United States.

Related Reading:

• AVMA list of recalled foods - the list keeps growing, but the AVMA is doing a good job of keeping this list updated.
• Itchmo.com - pet blog with excellent food recall coverage
• Howl911.com - database of recalled foods and animal illnesses and deaths
• PetSitUSA.com - news blog related to pet food recall