The WHO has laid down strict guidelines on industrial chemical melamine. The move is prompted to prevent food contamination scandals similar to the one experienced by China this year. Before the discovery of melamine contamination , the FDA could not determine any safe level for the chemical in formula.

The permissible levels of melamine, are 0.2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. However, if possible, it should be avoided completely. The U. S. FDA set the limit at 0.63 mg and then revised it to 0.063 mg, "an additional 10-fold safety factor… to compensate for … uncertainties."

Melamine can cause kidney stones and acute renal failure if ingested in large amounts. More than 294,000 Chinese children were affected by melamine toxicity last year. At least 50,000 children were hospitalized, and six have died. Manufacturers had added it to milk powder so that it appeared that their watered-down baby formula was more nutritious than it really was.

After the incident, melamine has been traced in dozens of foods around the world, including the US, that had been made with Chinese-manufactured milk powder. The list of tainted food included candy, yogurt, frozen desserts, biscuits, instant coffee, milk tea products, and other beverages.