Thermo Fisher Scientific Wins Food Safety Award for Melamine Detection Program in China

Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Massachusetts) announced that it has received a Ringer Technology Innovation Award for helping Chinese laboratories develop melamine detection methods following the discovery of tainted milk and infant formula in China. Ringer Trade Publishing presented the award. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s melamine testing approach comprises sample preparation, instrumentation, consumables, and a method based on a tandem liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry system. China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) used the method as a reference to create their own method. Melamine, an inexpensive chemical used in plastics manufacturing, and cyanuric acid, a melamine by-product, were found in milk-based products and food additives. When added to milk products, melamine increases the perceived protein content. Chinese officials in 2008 linked several deaths to melamine contamination, which led the U.S. FDA to issue an alert focused on milk-based products from China.