The Low Down on Melamine

What is Melamine?  Eye roll, yes another thing for us mommies to worry about (or not).  Basically in a nutshell, another chemical compound that was invented years ago to make products hard and durable – as a mom I know this from my kids dishware that often have characters, themes and can be seen on the end aisle at most big box stores for a very low cost. The chemical compound under high temperature easily molds and this is why I’ve often seen in the plates that have three or four different compartments to separate the food. My children love their food separated so you can bet your bottle dollar I had a few of these plates!

You might have also heard about Melamine and its use to bulk up baby formula in China. Yes, sick and scary but very true. As Time Magazine reported, the problem with Melamine – even though it has been around since the 1800’s, it easily scratches and stains. Like most BPA plastic, the scratches leaches the chemical and there is little known information on the safety of Melamine. The FDA is investigating the safety but they’re still okay with BPA so please do not hold your breathe.

Melamine has really made  mamas raise an eyebrow on this chemical compound and environmental impacts and like SafeMama puts it, “ Lead is so 2007.  This year it’s all about Melamine.” SafeMama sums up exactly what Melamine is but makes a great point, the FDA is saying it is suitable and safe for public safety. Ah, so no big deal right; continue to use the product and the cute molded plates because the FDA says that it is safe.

Okay, please note the sarcasms coming through your computer screen. Let me tell you why I believe that you should avoid Melamine dishes in your home:

1)    The National Toxilogy Program in 2008 discovered some pretty distributing facts on Melamine. In 2007 the compound was linked to deaths in cats and dogs because it was found in pet food and caused kidney failure. It has found in the human food chain and it leaches into our food from our plates and kitchenware.

2)    Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen but we’re putting it in food and into our children’s table wear for them to eat off of? Okay, yes because the government says it is okay so let’s just package it and sprinkle it on our trans fat French fries. Common sense folks?

3)    Better safe than sorry. What is the point of buying kids dishes if they possibly could leak toxic chemicals into our children’s food.  If that was the only chemical exposure it might not be so bad but then bath them in toxic chemicals, have fruits and veggies with pesticides, put them in pajamas dosed with flame retardants and strap them in a car seat with flame retardants while they chew on a plastic toy made from phthalates and BPA. It is about the mass of exposure and the unknown harm we are doing. Eliminating one toxic chemical that is potentially hazardous does indeed impact our children’s health for the better, along with the environment.

What do you Buy? Where do you Buy it? How do you what is Safe?

I am going to direct you to two of my favorite sources to help guide you. The first, Safe Mama’s guide to kids tableware because I use this guide, know the sources and their research and dedication. I trust them and genuinely feel comfortable supporting this guide.

The second, my good friend and BlogHer 09’ sponsor, Alicia of The Soft Landing. I shop at The Soft Landing and have a great relationship with Alicia. I know she is a trusted source and dedicated researcher and advocate for making sure our children’s tableware is safe and free of toxic chemicals. She speaks with manufacturers, companies and the media on a regular basis to bring the very best to our homes.

Stay tuned for ways I suggest you can reuse the Melamine dishware because it cannot be recycled. In the meantime, do not heat the dishware or put it in the microwave – for safety purposes. That’s my suggestion, however.