Codex Committee Recommends Adoption of Melamine Testing Guidelines
The Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling has reportedly endorsed guidelines providing regulators and the dairy industry a standard reference for testing melamine in dairy products, including powdered infant formula. Developed by the International Dairy Federation (IDF) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the wake of a melamine contamination scandal in China that purportedly sickened thousands of young children, the guidelines represent an internationally harmonized procedure that will allow authorities to determine if levels of melamine in dairy products exceed the Codex maximum level of 1 mg melamine per kg of product.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission will consider the committee’s endorsement and vote on the guidelines’ adoption in July 2011. The guidelines, titled “ISO/TS 15495 IDF/RM 230:2010, Milk, milk products and infant formulae—Guidelines for the quantitative determination of melamine and cyanuric acid by LC-MS/MS,” reportedly provide advice about sampling, test procedures and performance with examples of test results. While Codex standards and guidelines are not binding on national governments, they are often adopted by governmental entities and generally apply in disputes before the World Trade Organization and in trading contracts. See DairyReporter.com, March 15, 2011; Food Ingredients First, March 17, 2011.
