Accredited method for the determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in food and feed products

9 November 2022

In the last 20 years, there have been several instances of the contamination of melamine in food and feed products. Melamine is a widely used chemical for the production of melamine resin, most commonly for plastic materials. Scientific research has demonstrated that long-term or substantial consumption of melamine is toxic. Eurofins LabCo (Netherlands), a contaminants testing laboratory in the Eurofins Food & Feed testing network, announces the availability of the latest ISO and NEN methods to detect melamine and cyanuric acid in food and feed products.

Consuming melamine may cause damage to the reproductive system, among other side effects, making the detection of melamine in food and feed products very important. Recent contamination was found in food products that have been analyzed for protein content as an important quality indicator. For many protein analyses, the amount of nitrogen is used to calculate the protein content. Melamine consists largely of nitrogen. The addition of melamine therefore ensures a higher protein result with the usual protein analyses, however with major health risks as a result.

Melamine structure

Cyanuric acid

Cyanuric acid, a compound related to melamine, is not covered by current legislation. However, there is a lot of interest in this compound, as research shows that the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid in the body increases the toxicity of the individual compounds. Eurofins can also detect the presence of cyanuric acid as part of the analysis of melamine.

Cyanuric acid structure

Regulation

Maximum levels for melamine in food and feed are outlined in the food contaminant regulation (EC 1881/2006) and the regulation for undesirable substances in animal feed (EC 2002/32). The set maximum levels depend on the type of product and refer to melamine only. The inclusion of structurally related compounds, such as cyanuric acid, will be considered further down the line. The current limits are as follows:

(EC) No 1881/2006

Foodstuffs	Maximum levels (mg/kg)
Food with exception of infant formulae and follow-up formulae	2,5
Powdered infant formulae and follow-up formulae	1

(EC) 2002/32

Feedingstuffs	Maximum levels (mg/kg)
Feed	2,5
Canned pet food (as sold)	2,5
Feed additives, guanidino acetc acid (GAA)	2,5

Analytical methods

Eurofins LabCo uses the latest accredited methods for the determination of melamine and cyanuric acid. For milk, milk products and infant formula, the method is based on ISO 23970:2021 | IDF 252:2021. For other food and feed products, the method is based on NEN-EN 16858:2017. By using the LC-MS/MS technique (Liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry), Eurofins LabCo offers fast turnaround times, with reports available in as little as six hours, if required.

The reporting limits are validated on very low levels. In milk powder and infant formula, our lowest reporting limits are 0.05 mg/kg for melamine and 0.1 mg/kg for cyanuric acid. The lowest reporting limits for other food and feed products are 0.05 mg/kg for melamine and 0.5 mg/kg for cyanuric acid. These reporting limits are far below the current maximum limits for food and feed products.

Relevant products

Melamine and cyanuric acid can be detected in a wide range of food and feed products. The following products are at risk of contamination:

Milk and milk-based products, such as dairy products, milk powder, infant formula
Cereals and derived products
Animal feed
Pet food
Fishing and meat based products
Spices & condiments
Drinks
Additives
Egg and derived products
Fruits and derived products
Finished products
Fatty products

Quality Assurance

Eurofins LabCo has a wealth of experience in contaminant analyses in food, feed and infant formula products. Since even a very low level of melamine or cyanuric acid can be toxic, you can rely on highly reliable results from Eurofins LabCo:

Standard re-analysis and confirmation in case of any positive finding above detection limit and addition of reference sample
State-of-the-art measuring equipment for high reliability
Extensive validation performed a wide range of food and feed products, including infant formula, milk powder, condensed milk, full fat milk
ISO17025:2017 accrediation of melamine and cyanuric acid in food/feed products
Control sample added to each run
Participation in various ring test programmes

Questions?

Would you like to receive more information about our new melamine and cyanuric acid analysis? Please contact us via: sales-food-nl@eurofins.com.