(LA Times) — Serving hot food on melamine tableware could
increase your exposure to melamine, a study released Monday in
the journal JAMA Internal Medicine suggests. Melamine, an
industrial chemical used in everyday items such as cooking
utensils, plates, paperboard and industrial coatings can
apparently seep into food when it’s heated, the study said. In
two separate tests, researchers from Kaohsiung Medical
University and Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital in Taiwan
served a dozen participants about two cups of hot noodle soup in
melamine bowls and ceramic bowls. After participants ate out of
the melamine bowls, the levels of melamine in their urine peaked
six hours later, up to about 8 parts per billion, before
tapering off later in the day. Those who ate out of ceramic
bowls had on average less than 2 parts per billion. Researchers
suggested some of the melamine detected after eating from the
ceramic bowl was actually leftover melamine from first eating
from the melamine bowl. A person can have up to