Adoptive parents worry about melamine poisoning

Parents who adopt children from China have considerable reason to worry about the possibility the baby could be poisoned with melamine.

Associated Press reports of one woman whose Chinese baby showed no symptoms of being poisoned but an ultrasound revealed she had two kidney stones.

Chinese manufacturers have been accused of placing the counterfeit agent melamine, an industrial chemical used in plastics production, was added to numerous batches of Chinese-made infant formula. The melamine dupes inspectors into thinking the milk product contains more protein than it actually does.

Melamine has killed at least six children and has sickened at least 300,000 more in China.

Slowly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reacted and several weeks ago announced it was ceasing all Chinese imports of milk-based products, specifically infant formula.

Though only a handful of parents have reported their children experiencing kidney stones domestically, parents who take a popular route and adopt a child born in China.

Considering the amount of reported incidents of melamine poisoning in China, it is possible some of the newly adopted in the past year could have ingested the poisoned formula.

Meanwhile, outside of the ramped-up inspections, the FDA is being accused for standing by its original contention, that melamine is not dangerous to humans, especially infants.

Melamine has been accused of causing long-term developmental defects in children, but also has been linked to very uncommon kidney stones in infants.