Hanoi - Vietnam will allow tiny trace levels of the industrial chemical melamine in dairy products, similar to rules in the European Union and the United States, a Vietnamese official said Monday. New rules will permit up to 2.5 milligrams of melamine per kilogram of foodstuffs in food intended for adults, said Nguyen Hung Long, vice director of Vietnam's Department of Food Safety and Hygiene.
In food meant for children, the limit is 1 milligram per kilogram of foodstuff.
Previously, Vietnam had banned food containing even the slightest trace levels of melamine.
The new Vietnamese limits appear close to international standards, but the comparison is complicated. International standards are generally based on tolerable daily intake (TDI) of melamine, rather than amounts per kilogram of foodstuff.
In September the European Food Safety Authority advised that the TDI of melamine should not exceed 0.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The US Food and Drug Administration recommends TDI of not more than 0.63 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
Melamine, a chemical used in producing plastics and fertilizer, has been found in dairy products around the world since Chinese authorities acknowledged in September that it was being used in milk processed by several major dairy companies there.
The chemical, which is cheap to produce, was added artificially boost protein content. It is blamed for causing kidney stones and renal failure, and has sickened thousands of babies across China.
