A position statement on kidney disease from powdered infant formula-based melamine exposure in Chinese infants

Abstract

Melamine, a man-made non-nutritive substance containing nitrogen, can falsely elevate measures of protein content in foodstuffs. Several manufacturers of powdered infant formula in China apparently added melamine to raise the measured protein content and thereby exposed thousands of infants and young children to very high levels of melamine. Such exposure resulted in cases of acute kidney failure and nephrolithiasis. This Editorial from members of the world-wide Pediatric Nephrology community provides a common-sense approach to the care of infants who may have been exposed to powdered infant formula in 2007-2008.