What is the Chinese food contaminant Melamine?

What is the Chinese food contaminant Melamine?

The material, in powdered form, has also come into use by certain unscrupulous food companies as a cheap and abundant filler substance for products ranging from livestock feed to pet food, and now, apparently, to baby formula. In some tests used to determine the nutritional value of a foodstuff, melamine shows up as a protein, so manufacturers can use the compound to make their products appear more nutritious. Melamine is not toxic, but inside the body it can cause kidney stones and renal failure.

Melamine is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred, and has several other industrial uses. Melamine combines with cyanuric acid to form melamine cyanurate, which has been implicated in the Chinese protein export contaminations. (Wikipedia)

Melamine Composed of nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen, the compound was invented in the 1830s by a German scientist and came into fashion as a material used to make plastics and laminates in the late 1930s. When combined with formaldehyde and exposed to extreme heat, melamine creates a moldable material that, when cooled, is virtually unbreakable and dishwasher-safe. This made it the durable dishware of choice on some U.S. Navy ships during World War II. (Time, 09/17/2008)

Melamine contamination, World Health Organization

Toxicology of melamine

Epidemiology and treatment

Questions and Answers on melamine