Trace levels of melamine called safe

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says trace amounts of melamine and other toxic chemicals found in infant formula tests are considered safe.

FDA officials Friday released some of the results of a nationwide testing effort undertaken in the wake of September's Chinese infant formula scandal, in which high levels of melamine found in infant formula were linked to health problems in Asia, CNN reported.

The results showed two samples of Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron tested positive for melamine at levels of 137 and 140 parts per billion. But those levels were far below the melamine amounts found in Chinese formula and are considered safe, Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said in a statement.

"Amounts of the industrial chemical melamine or the melamine-like compound called cyanuric acid that are below 1 ppm (1,000 parts per billion) do not raise public health concerns," CNN quoted Sundlof saying.

Tests also found three samples of Mead Johnson's infant powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron, with trace levels of cyanuric acid at an average of 247 parts per billion, the broadcaster said.