Why was melamine added to pet food ingredients, and what were the effects?
A supplier in China added melamine to wheat gluten and rice derivatives in order to make the products test higher for protein content. Gluten is a part of grains that is high in protein, and it is used as thickener in the “gravy” of pet foods. Melamine was added only to make the ingredient appear to be higher in protein. Like protein, melamine contains the element nitrogen, which was what was tested. Thus, added melamine gave artificially high readings and increased the market value of the ingredients. The FDA says that melamine “should not be in pet food at any level.” At the time the pet food recalls began, we had very little information about the effects of using melamine in food, because it had never been suggested or tested as a “food additive.” In affected cats and dogs, melamine caused lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, renal failure, and in some cases, death.
