Che cos’e la melamina?
La melamina è un composto chimico di sintesi prodotto industrialmente.
A cosa serve?
Essendo una plastica dura e resistente al calore viene sovente usata per gli utensili da cucina, i piatti ed i rivestimenti laminati dei tavoli e delle superfici da lavoro (la melamina si trova ad esempio nella fòrmica). Anche le lavagne bianche contengono melamina. La melamina, in virtù del suo alto contenuto di azoto può essere utilizzata anche come fertilizzante.
Perché viene aggiunta volontariamente al latte?
La melamina è un composto chimico molto ricco in azoto e per questo motivo viene aggiunta al latte in polvere e alle farine proteiche di glutine destinate all’alimentazione degli animali per aumentarne apparentemente il contenuto proteico. Questo è possibile perchè le analisi che misurano la concentrazione proteica negli alimenti si basano sulla misurazione dell’azoto totale.
Negli ultimi anni la melamina è stata ritrovata negli alimenti per animali, nei cereali e in altri prodotti come i concentrati proteici di riso. Nel 2007, in seguito a numerosi casi di malattia e morte di cani e gatti, le autorità statunitensi hanno ritirato dal commercio oltre 100 diversi tipi di alimenti per animali da compagnia. In tutti i casi finora scoperti gli alimenti contenenti melamina provenivano dalla Cina.
Che problemi di salute può provocare?
Al momento si sa ancora poco sulla tossicità della melamina nell’uomo, anche perchè finora non c’erano ancora stati casi di intossicazione acuta. La tossicità acuta negli animali è invece stata già studiata e provoca inappetenza e perdita di peso, calcoli vescicali ed eliminazione di cristalli di melamina con le urine.
Esposizioni prolungate alla melamina possono invece causare disturbi alla sfera riproduttiva, calcoli renali e patologie alla vescica, che possono esitare in tumori.
Cosa è stato fatto?
Recentemente la Commissione Europea ha incaricato l’Agenzia per la Sicurezza Alimentare Europea (EFSA) di redigere una valutazione tossicologica sulla contaminazione da melamina in mangimi ed alimenti.
cliccando QUI si può leggere la prima valutazione dell’EFSA (in inglese)
In Italia il Ministero della Salute emana ogni anno un piano nazionale per la sorveglianza sanitaria sull’alimentazione degli animali. Nei controlli all’importazione dei mangimi sono previsti dei campionamenti che riguardano alcune sostanze indesiderabili nell’alimentazione animale, tra queste c’è anche la melamina (insieme a micotossine, metalli pesanti, OGM, diossine, ecc.). E comunque aggiungere agli alimenti sostanze estranee come la melamina può configurare diversi possibili reati che vanno dalla frode in commercio fino all’omicidio colposo.
ENGLISH VERSION
What is melamine?
Melamine is a synthetic, chemical compound industrially produced.
What is it for?
Being a hard plastics very resistant to the heat, melamine is often used for the kitchen utensils, the dishes and the laminate coverings of the tables and of the job surfaces. Also the white blackboards contain melamine. The melamine, thanks to his high nitrogen content can also be used as fertilizer.
Why is voluntarily added to the milk?
Melamine is a chemical compound very rich in nitrogen. For this reason she is added to the powdered milk and to the proteic flours of gluten destined to the animals feeding to apparently increase its protein content. This is possible because the analytical measurement of the protein concentration in the foodstuffs is based on the measurement of the total nitrogen.
In the last years melamine has been found in the pet food, in the cereals and other products like the rice protein concentrate. In 2007, following many cases of illness and death in dogs and cats, the American authorities have withdrawn from the commerce over 100 different types of pet food. In all the cases till now discovered the foodstuffs containing melamine they originated from China.
What health problems can she cause?
At this moment few is known on the toxicity of the melamine in man, also because till now there had not been cases of acute poisoning. The acute toxicity in the animals has already been studied instead and it causes appetite and weight loss, bladder calculi and crystals elimination of melamine with the urines.
Prolonged exposures to melamine can cause troubles instead to the reproductive sphere, renal calculi and others bladder pathologies, that may hesitate in cancer.
What has been done?
Recently the European Commission has entrusted the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) to draft a toxicological evaluation on the melamine contamination in foods and foodstuffs.
click HERE and you can read (in English) the first EFSA evaluation of melamine
In Italy the Health Ministry emanates every year a national plan for the sanitary overseeing on the animals feeding. During the controls to the foods importation samples were collected in order to establish the presence of undesirable substances in the animal feeding. Among these substances there is also the melamine (together with mycotoxins, heavy metals, OGM, dioxins, etc.). However the addition of extraneous substances like melamine to the foodstuffs can realize different crimes that go from the fraud to commerce up to the manslaughter.
B l o g - i c o 
Thanks in favor of sharing such a fastidious thinking,
paragraph is pleasant, thats why i have read it completely
Your mode of describing everything in this article is really pleasant, all
be capable of simply be aware of it, Thanks a lot.
There’s certainly a lot to learn about this subject. I like all the points you made.
Simply desire to say your article is as surprising.
The clearness in your post is just great and i can assume you are an expert on this subject.
Fine with your permission let me to grab your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.
Thanks a million and please carry on the enjoyable work.
Good site you have here.. It’s difficult to find quality writing like yours these days. I honestly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Outstanding post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more
on this topic? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Bless you!
I usually do not write many comments, but i did some searching and
wound up here Melamina (also in english) | B l o g – i c o.
And I do have a couple of questions for you if you don’t mind. Could it be simply me or does it seem like a few of these responses come across like they are coming from brain dead people? 😛 And, if you are writing at additional online social sites, I’d like to keep up with anything new
you have to post. Could you make a list of all of all
your community sites like your Facebook page, twitter
feed, or linkedin profile?
Actually very useful ideas are supplied here.thank
an individual so much.Keep the great works .
This is really fascinating, You’re an overly skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look ahead to in search of more of your great post.
Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks
Wow! This might be one specific that is useful blogs We’ve got ever arrive across using this type of subject. Basically Magnificent. I am also a specialist with this topic therefore I can also understand your effort.
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every day.
It’s always exciting to read through content from other authors and practice a little something from their sites.
You must take part in a contest for amongst the best blogs on the internet.
I will suggest this web site!
My brother suggested I might like this website. He was entirely right.
This publish truly made my day. You cann’t believe simply
how so much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!