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Concept
Melamine
Summary
Melamine ˈmɛləmiːn is an organic compound with the formula C3H6N6. This white solid is a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 67% nitrogen by mass, and its derivatives have fire-retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred. Melamine can be combined with formaldehyde and other agents to produce melamine resins. Such resins are characteristically durable thermosetting plastic used in high pressure decorative laminates such as Formica, melamine dinnerware including cooking utensils, plates, plastic products, laminate flooring, and dry erase boards. Melamine foam is used as insulation, soundproofing material and in polymeric cleaning products, such as Magic Eraser.
Melamine-formaldehyde resin tableware was evaluated by the Taiwan Consumers' Foundation to have 20,000 parts per billion of free melamine that could migrate out of the plastic into acidic foods if held at 160 °F for two hours, such as if food was kept heated in contact with it in an oven.
Melamine was once illegally added to baby formula in China, in order to increase the apparent protein content. Ingestion of melamine may lead to reproductive damage, or bladder or kidney stones, and bladder cancer. It is also an irritant when inhaled or in contact with the skin or eyes. The United Nations' food standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, has set the maximum amount of melamine allowed in powdered infant formula to 1 mg/kg and the amount of the chemical allowed in other foods and animal feed to 2.5 mg/kg. While not legally binding, the levels allow countries to ban importation of products with excessive levels of melamine.
The German word Melamin was coined by combining the words melam (a derivative of ammonium thiocyanate) and amine. Melamine is, therefore, unrelated etymologically to the root melas (μέλας, meaning 'black' in Greek), from which the words melanin, a pigment, and melatonin, a hormone, are formed.
In one large-scale application, melamine is combined with formaldehyde and other agents to produce melamine resins.
Official source
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