PLA = POLY LACTIC ACID (PLASTIK ORGANIK)

PLA is the acronym of Poly Lactic Acid, and its scientific name is Poly Lactide.  First found in yogurt (or sour milk) by Sdude in the U.S.A. in the year 1850, lactic acid, also named α-hydroxypropionic acid, with molecular formula CH3CHOHCOOH, exists in yogurt and blood, or be produced by muscle exercise. Lactic acid has three types of structure: two optical isomers–labeled D and L; one structure without optical activity–labeled DL, namely racemic structure.

Due to the progress of human civilizations and enormous use of petrochemical plastics, quantities of plastics that hardly degrade without incurring pollution are discarded in the nature, resulting in one of the most severe environmental pollution after industrialization in human history. Through the past 50 years, there has been a stunning increasing in the packaging application of petroleum plastic and various types of high polymer. At present, the plastics consumption in the whole world has exceeded 160 million tons, covering all kinds of plastic-related materials valued at 150 billion USD, 35% among which was used in packaging materials, and the treatment of these packaging wastes has caused a huge impact on our environment. Therefore, recycling mechanism for plastic materials and the study on dissolvable plastic have become more and more.

PLA is not a new plastic material. As early as the year 1932, Wallace Caruthers in DuPont Company in the United States was already able to polymerize lactic acid in vacuum to produce polymer with low molecular weight. However, because production cost was too high, no progress was made until Cargill Company invested on the research of new PLA production process in 1987, and then in 2001, Cargill and Dow Chemical Company established by joint venture Nature-Works LLC Company that commercially and massively produce PLA products named “ECODEAR”.

Raw material to produce PLA is organic acid lactic acid. Because some features of this material are superior to present petrochemical plastics: polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene, so PLA is taken as the most promising new packaging material in the new century and it is a superstar of packaging materials related to environmental protection. In the future, it is expectable that PLA can replace polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene to be widely used in plastics. Besides, PLA has a vast development feature since its raw material is taken mainly from plants, instead of limited petroleum resources. Another fact worth pointing out is that PLA can be degraded by microorganisms in the soil into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water without making any pollution at all. Within ten years in the future, PLA will gradually replace plastic with similar natures like PET and PS, and it will become the most promising polymer raw material.

PLA is a biodegradable and compostable material. Glucose molecules in plant fibers or starch ferment and become lactic acid which further polymerizes to PLA. Corn and wheat are the main resource of plant fibers. PLA is completely produced by starch isolated from plant, and then go through fermentation, dewatering and polymerization processes. PLA in the early stage was researched for medical applications, e.g.: surgical stitches and bone nails. PLA is a new kind of degradable high polymer with multiple usages; it is produced by 100% regeneratable resources: plant starch ingredient from corn, beets or rice.

Under natural environment, PLA can be completely degraded into CO2 and water in several months. In preliminary tests, tray made by PLA is inferior to Styrofoam in thermal insulating and buffer effects; its strength is not enough and can be scraped easily. PLA polymer has been included in the index of food contact materials announced by FDA. Under 65℃, this material can be used to contain food. But Taiwan MOH did not set a food safety standard for PLA.

PLA’s merits are indicated in the following aspects:

1. Excellent biodegradability. After using, PLA can be completely degraded by microorganisms in natural environment and is finally degraded into CO2 and water. It will not pollute the environment and is ideal for environmental protection.
2. Excellent processability and physical properties. PLA is suitable for various processing methods, such as blowing molding and thermoplastic technique. It can be easily processed and widely used. PLA processing ranges from plastics, food packaging, fast food container, nonwoven fabric and cloth for industrial and civil purposes to further processed fabrics for agricultural and health care purposes, wipers, sanitary products, outdoor anti-UV fabrics, tent cloth, and floor mat side, etc. It is a promising product in future market.
3. Excellent products compatibility. PLA is also widely used in medical and pharmaceutical field. For example, it can be used to produce one-off transfusion instrument, nontakenout surgical stitches, etc., and low molecular weight PLA can be used to produce sustained-release drug delivery packs.

Lactic acid is the raw material to produce PLA. Traditional lactic acid fermentation used starch as raw material. Presently, United States, France and Japan are developing methods to utilize agricultural and sideline products as fermentation raw materials to produce lactic acid and then further produce PLA. The PLA-producing technique of LLC Company in United States is: corn starch becomes glucose through hydrolysis, and then introduce lactic acid bacillus to conduct anaerobic fermentation; during fermentation process, liquid alkaline is used for neutralization to produce lactic acid. After being purified, the fermentation liquid is used to produce L-lactic acid with 99.5％ purity by electrodialysis.

There have been two processes in the synthesis of PLA out of lactic acid:

1. direct polycondensation—a process of using solvent in vacuum to directly dehydrate polycondense the lactide.
2. nonsolvent method— a process of firstly synthesizing become cyclic dimer PLA from lactic acid and then ring-opening polymerizing to make PLA. PLA molecular polymerization reaction is showed as follows:

One research institute in the United States successfully converse the waste whey liquid left by cheese-producing process to glucose syrup, and then use germs to ferment the glucose syrup to produce lactic acid contained fermentation broth. Through isolation using electrodialysis and vaporizing waters by heating, PLA for making film and coating is produced and it can be used to produce fresh-keeping bags and packaging materials free of polyethylene and waterproofing wax.

Erstein’s Sugar Refinery in France cooperated with one university to invent another process to prepare PLA. They use beets as raw materials, firstly degrade into monosaccharide and then ferment into lactic acid, then use chemical method to polymerize lactic acid into PLA. PLA can also be produced by waste sugar liquid of industrial sugar-refining process and thus greatly curtail producing cost.

Kinebo Company in Japan uses corn as raw materials to ferment into PLA, which is further used to produce biodegradable foaming material. This is a process of mixing a special additive into PLA so as to control its molecular structure and make easily foaming particles. And then they add organic compound foam agent made by carbonhydrate; the materials are molded in molder and then heated by high-pressure water vapor to make foaming materials. Such materials are the same as polystyrene plastics in terms of strength compressive stress, cushioning, and drug tolerance. They do not pollution the environment when incinerated, and they can be used as fertilizer.

PLA produced by a commercial mode uses crop containing enormous amount of starch, e.g.: corn, as raw materials. Reaped corn is sent to corn factory and starch are isolated from corn endosperm and hydrolyzed by liquid enzyme into glucose. Glucose ferments to lactic acid in a neutral environment. Under mild conditions and nonsolvent, lactic acid is dewatered to produce low molecular weight prepolymer. Through catalytic depolymerization, this prepolymer forms cyclic intermediate dimer, called dewatered lactic acid. The purity of dewatered lactic acid can be controlled to produce molecular weight with a wider range. By distillation purification, dewatered lactic acid can be purified to polymer level. After nonsolvent ring-opening polymerization, purified dewatered lactic acid can be further processed into plastic granules to be used as PLA raw materi

Introduction on Dietary Fiber

The traditional definition of Dietary Fiber is a substance that can be found in plant cell wall and cells but cannot be dissolved by our digestive enzymes. Though containing the same carbohydrate composition as amylum, dietary fiber can not be digested and absorbed by our body because of its different linking, and will eventually be egested. In consequence, it was regarded previously as useless substance. Fibers in food, in general, can be divided into two groups: Insoluble Dietary Fiber (IDF) and Soluble Dietary Fiber (SDF); and the combination of these two is commonly known as Total Dietary Fiber (TDF). IDF, known as Crude Fiber in Traditional Nutrients Table, includes: 1, Cellulose: a glucose polymer, hydrophile but insoluble in water and common dissolvents; rich in raw gluten, whole wheat flour, beans, rootstalks, cabbage, cucumber, broccoli, and brussels sprout. 2. Hemicelluloses: complex polysaccharides with polyuronic acid, often found in algae, whole grain, gluten grain, and vegetables like mustard and brussels sprout. 3. Lignin: Often seen in woods, bamboos, straws, and old rootstalks. Hard to swallow, and is no longer referred to dietary fiber but plant fiber instead. Gums: a substance that will become tremellose and sticky when dissolved in water. Rich in –Glucan in oatmeal, barley, dried beans, plantain seeds and jelly fig. Pectin: a tremellose polysaccharide with a great water-holding capacity; rich in apples, citrus, persimmons, pears, bananas, strawberries, dried beans, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, pumpkin, and potatoes. Mucilage: a extremely sticky and water-holding polysaccharide, such as Alginic Acid in kelps, which can be found in algae and seeds and easily gets tremellose with water. The biggest difference between IDF and SDF lies in the water-holding capacity. SDF possesses a better capacity to hold water for the formation of normal excrements to be easily egested; therefore, SDF is more helpful for constipation improvement. In fact, recent nutrition studies reveal that, dietary fiber performs various functionalities in keeping our physical functions well and in disease control. Those functionalities include: In the mouth, it advances chewing movements and salvia secretion to stimulate facial muscles and gums for our oral health, especially for patients with periodontosis. In the stomach, dietary fiber (especially SDF) extends the time food remains in the stomach for a slower evacuation. Also, it helps us keep fit by providing us a sense of full and requiring more calories for the digestion when it swelled. In the duodenum, it helps us expel bile acid and cholate by combining itself with them, and to keep the consistency, the oxidation of cholesterols will happen in the liver to generate bile acid. That is, high-fiber diet can indirectly decrease cholesterol in the blood. Also, fat is dissolved and absorbed with bile by our body here while dietary fiber can prevent cholesterol from the absorption. Besides, food rich in fibers often contains less fat, and thus can not only help control blood fat but prevent modern chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular accidents and high blood pressure. In the large intestine, with its water-holding capacity, dietary fiber can dilute cancerogenic toxicity generated from the intestine, advance the intestinal peristalsis and collect feces inside the body as excrements to be egested appropriately. Thus, it lowers the rate of constipation and colorectal cancer, along with the help to prevent hemorrhoid and appendicitis. Besides, it is also helpful for maintaining intestinal bacteria balance, preventing malignant bacteria. Researches indicate that, dietary fiber provides a vigorous growth of intestinal lactobacillus.The increase of probiotics with the decrease of malignant bacteria will definitely keep our body healthy. It can be therefore regarded as one prebiotics. Promoting the secretion of intestinal mucus that protects parietal cells from the invasion of harmful obstacles, it delays the absorption of polysaccharides, ease up the rise of blood sugar, reduce the secretion of insulin, and helps controlling and preventing diabetes. To sum up, the advantages of dietary fiber are: advances chewing movements to make food and salvia well mixed; extends evacuation time for stomach and small intestines for a sense of full; advances gastrointestinal peristalsis for regular defecation; suppresses the rise of blood sugar after diet; reduces fat in blood; absorbs organic substances and expel harmful ones; improves intestinal bacteria balance by increasing probiotics and decreasing malignant ones; absorbs bile acids and carcinogenic substances to be expelled; lowers absorbing rate of salts to lower blood pressure. Excess intake of dietary fiber, however, may result in some side effects, including: high fiber diet contains phytic acid that will interrupt the body absorption of Vitamin A & B, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and copper; it lowers the digestion and absorption of nutrients. (this is sometimes be thought as an advantage since most modern people are having overnutrition); Too much IDF content may cause mechanic friction to damage intestine wall, especially for infants; Too much lignin may cause constipation instead because of its overmuch absorption of water; it may cause diarrhea because that organic acids, generating from the combination of SDF and intestinal bacteria, would produce surfactant to excessively accelerate intestinal movements. American Dietetic Association (ADA) addresses the positive effects of dietary fiber on health, suggesting the public to intake enough amount dietary fiber from different vegetables and fruits. The suggested daily intake amount is 20 -35 grams for an adult and 25-40 grams for the children according to their age. The original definition of dietary fiber in the past was made only based on physical functions and analysis methods while it actually allows a much wider range for food components. And with the rapid development of modern technologies and food industry, lots of food components similar to dietary fiber, such as resistant starch, oligosaccharide and inulin, are not included in the definition of dietary fiber. The confinement in the old definition of dietary fiber is becoming clearer. Furthermore, people’s awareness of its important physical functions brings out a plenty of dietary fiber foods. Eventually, American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) set up a committee specific for the definition of dietary fiber in 1998. And on June 23rd, 1999, AACC and the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) together established an enforcing committee. What is more, a specific seminar for the definition of dietary fiber was held in the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago on July 26th, 1999, and the same year, a discuss was made in the 84th AACC annual meeting with a final definition of dietary fiber concluded as followed: Dietary fiber is a vegetable component for diet that cannot be absorbed by small intestines in human body, but can be fermented partly or completely by large intestines. It is a combination of carbohydrate and other similar substances, including polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, Lignin, and related vegetable substances. Dietary fiber provides one and more physical functions, like constipation releasing, blood sugar control, and the decrease of blood fat. The above description explicitly defines dietary fiber as a edible vegetation composition but not organic composition. And its main components are: celluloses, hemicelluloses, pectin; soluble colloids, like gums and algae polysaccharides; lignin in plant cell wall; indigestible substances, like resistant starch, resistant dextrin, modified celluloses, mucilage, oligosaccharides; and a few related components, like waxes, cutin, and suberin. Chitin and chitosan are organic aminopolysaccharides, while some scholars insist that they should be defined as dietary fiber because of their special structures. Similar to the fiber, both are constructed with straight chain polymer, a composition of 1000 – 3000 n- Acetyl -d –Glucosamine morphons in a B-1,4 chain. Straight chain polymer is a natural and digestible polymer without toxicity, so as to be regarded as the organic polymer with most potential. In the nature, chitin is the most common aminopolysaccharide next to fiber, and can be generally found on the shell of invertebrates like insects and aquatic crustacean, and also on the cell wall of fungus. Its main functions in organics are to support body structure as skeletons and to provide protection. Chitosa is the product after the deacetylation of chitin. As a rule, a merely 70 % completion of the deacetylation on chitin can turns it into chitosa, soluble in acid.

Meat Analogue (Artificial Meat)

“ Consumer prices are rising in China….University restaurants use vegetarian meat to pass off as pork….” This is another piece of news that reminds us of China’s black-hearted food products. However, behind this, food processing products of “ artificial meat “ is indirectly being wronged for mixing with fake products. Actually, artificial meat itself exits the positive meaning in terms of food processing skills, nutrition and health.

Artificial meat is not exactly a lovely name. Consumers prefer to call it “ vegetarian meat.” In the industry, “ meat analogue “ is the term used to refer to “ imitation meat “ made from the processing skills of making textured vegetable proteins. It is called “ imitation meat “ because it very much approximates the qualities of real animal muscle fiber (appearance and taste).

By definition, meat analogue is also called meat substitute, mock meat, faux meat , imitation meat or veat. Meat analogue is mock meat that is made from non-animal protein and its appearance and smell are very much like real meat. The market for non-meat food targets primarily on vegetarians. Of course, vegan, ovo-vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian and ovo-lacto vegetarian consumers are also included. The reasons for meat-less dietary, besides the religious factor, it also has something to do with the rise of emphasizing on vegetable protein, more and more consumers choose vegetable-protein products for health reasons. In early days, the motives for the Japanese to develop veggie ham were to use cheap vegetable protein as a substitute for animal-protein products which were severely lacked of during postwar times. Surimi is another kind of processed product using fish protein ( or other animal protein such as turkey) to imitate other animal-protein products ( such as mock crab, mock shrimp or non-meat hotdog).

Humans are not unfamiliar with mock meat producing skills and products. Traditional Taiwanese gluten products including veggie chicken, veggie ducks, veggie fish are basically in the category of mock-meat products. Even products made from mushroom stems, tofu and dried beans were great mock-meat products during early times when living goods and materials were severely short of. Recently, with the progress in processing skills, soy protein is successfully transformed into textured vegetable protein (TVP) under high temperatrue and high pressure through single-screw or twin-screw extrusion forming technologies. Not to mention it also helps promote the development of vegetarian meat in the market. Of course, vegetable protein which can be used for food processing is not limited to only soy protein, traditional wheat protein, other types of soy protein and mycoprotein which is derived from mocro-organism fermentation are good materials for vegetable meat research & develoepment and relevant product applications. The very common human non-digestive dietary fiber – konjac fiber products in the market for the past few years are another mock-meat products for consumers to choose from in terms of taste and health reasons.

What is Melamine?

By the end of 2006, a sharp growth of acute renal failure problems occurred in animals was observed. In a very short period of time, there were more than 140 thousand cases reported. The investigation has found a connection between all the renal failure cases and the food. The contaminated pet food products that caused serious renal problems share one thing in common — wheat gluten imported from China. This batch of wheat gluten contains melamine. According to FDA (US), the chemical bonding of melamine (1,3,5-Triazine-2,4,6-triamine；C3H6N6, the chemical structure is shown in figure 1) and Cyanuric acid (1,3,5-triazinane-2,4,6-trione, the chemical structure is shown in figure 2) yields crystalline substances which may cause acute renal failures in animals.

Melamine is a white, odorless, crystalline N-heterocyclic organic base which is commonly used in paint, building materials, paper-making and textile industries. Melamine boards/paper and dinnerware are made from thermoplastic melamine. In some countries in Asia, it is also used to make pesticides and plant fertilizers.

Figure 1, Chemical structure of Melamine	Figure 2, Chemical structure of Cyanuric acid	Figure 3, chemical structure of the bonding of melamine and cyanuric acid

Nitrogen found in melamine creates potential misreading in Chemical analysis of proteins. Some crooked businessmen added even more nitrogen-containing melamine to confuse the chemical test reading. The FDA has discovered that the pet food manufacturers and material providers in China have added more melamine to pet food materials such as wheat glutens and rice glutens and then claimed their pet food products containing higher proteins. However, melamine, predominately from petrochemical industries, is high in nitrogen. Human body does not digest or break down melamine. If it is ingested in great amount, it may cause serious renal problems and may be lethal. It is no surprise to many that the products imported from China (PRC), in past few years, have aroused food safety concerns.

Melamine is actually a raw material for industrial use. The US has banned the use of melamine in human and animal food products. FDA claimed that there is no direct evidence to prove the connection of renal problems and ingestion of potentially contaminated chicken or pork. However, this does not put consumers at ease when it comes to the use of soybean or wheat gluten in food safety and the health concerns. The banning of melamine use in food products is still valid. FDA (US) has started the inspection of manufacturers’ production equipments and protein ingredients. I-Mei Foods Co. Ltd. follows rigorous ISO 9001 and GMP standards to manufacture soybean protein product line (i.e. imitation meat products for vegetarians). This provides consumers quality food and rid of food safety worries.

Some terms may be easily confused with melamine are melanin and melatonin. Melanin is the black pigment appears in human hair and skin. Melatonin is an endocrine produced by the pineal gland in human brain. It is also an anti-oxidant. Melatonin is able to hold the black pigments around the nucleus in human cells so the black pigment will not show through skin; hence, this makes the skin tone lighter. It is also used in sleep pattern regulations and eases the jet-lag syndromes found on some individuals.

Sumber : http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/static/admilk/news/961113/index_en.html

PANGAN, RAMADHAN DAN USAHA MENGHINDARI GANGGUAN KESEHATAN

Artikel ringan ini memuat saran yang berguna, agar terhindar dari masalah umum yang sering terjadi selama bulan suci ramadhan. Apabila saran ini ditaati dan diikuti, seorang muslim dapat berpuasa dengan nyaman dan menikmati secara penuh makna spiritual bulan ramadhan. Berpuasa artinya seorang muslim akan tidak makan dan minum sekitar 14 jam/hari. Disarankan untuk mengkonsumsi pangan yang lambat tercerna usus, termasuk pangan berserat tinggi, dibandingkan pangan yang mudah tercerna. Pangan yang lambat tercerna akan habis dicerna sekitar 8 jam, sedang pangan cepat tercerna, akan habis dicerna sekitar 3 – 4 jam. Pangan tercerna lambat a.l.: biji-2an seperti: beras pecah kulit atau beras merah, lentil, biji gandum, barley, millet, kacang-kacangan. Semua biji-2an ini biasanya disebut: kompleks karbohidrat.

Sementara pangan tercerna cepat a.l.: pangan mengandung gula dan beras poles, tepung gandum. Sementara pangan berserat: seperti: buah dengan kulit, sayuran hijau daun, buncis, kacang panjang dll.

Pangan yang dimakan harus terdiri dari 4 sehat 5 sempurna: ada buah, sayur, beras, kacang-kacangan, biji-2an, daging, ikan, dan susu dan produk turunannya. Gorengan sebaiknya dihindari, karena tidak sehat. Gorengan menyebabkan pangan tidak tercerna, rasa perih dan menimbulkan masalah berat badan.

HINDARI: Gorengan dan pangan berlemak; Pangan banyak mengandung gula; Kebanyakan makan saat sahur; Minum teh terlalu banyak saat sahur. Minum teh terlalu banyak, menimbulkan kencing berlebihan. Ini menyebabkan kehilangan mineral yang banyak diperlukan saat berpuasa. Berhenti merokok. Merokok tidak sehat, kalau tidak bias berhenti, paling tidak kurangi merokok.

KONSUMSI: Kompleks karbohidrat, membuat perut tidak cepat lapar. Kurma mengandung gula, serat, mineral Mg, K dan karbohidrat. Kacang almond kaya protein dan kaya serat, rendah lemak. Pisang bagus karena merupakan sumber karbohidrat, Mg dan K.

MINUM: Air atau Juice yang banyak antara saat berbuka dan saat sebelum tidur. Agar tubuh dapat menjaga cairan tubuh dengan baik saat puasa.

Ganguan kesehatan saat berpuasa:

Perut mulas terasa sebah. Perut terasa penuh, rasa sakit di lubang dubur dan perut kembung. Semua ini disebabkan, berbuka dengan makanan rendah serat atau pangan olahan (refined foods), minum terlalu sedikit. Untuk menghindarinya: konsumsi pangan berserat, hindari makan pangan olahan dengan cara berlebih, minum yang banyak, makan nasi pecah kulit, jangan beras putih dan makan whole grain bread.

Sering buang angin dan perut terasa penuh: Penyebabnya: makan terlalu banyak, makan gorengan atau pangan berlemak secara berlebih, pangan yang menghasilkan gas (wind): seperti: telur, kobis, ketela pohon, ubi jalar dan minum coca cola. Usaha menghindarinya: minum air atau juice yang banyak, Jangan makan berlebihan. Hindari pangan berlemak dan gorengan. Semoga bermanfaat, walau puasa tinggal seumur jagung. wassalam

ASAM CYANURAT, KEMBARAN MELAMINE

Asam cyanurat, senyawa yang serupa dengan melamine. Biasa dipakai sebagai pelunak/conditioner air di kolam renang. Juga banyak dipakai sebagai bahan pencemar pet foods. USDA dan FDA lembaga resmi amerika serikat yang mengatur perdagangan produk pangan dan produk pertanian, menyatakan efek melamine dan produk serupa (asam cyanurat) terhadap manusia belum diketahui. Demikian pula interaksi melamine dan asam cyanurat terhadap manusia belum jelas. namun dilaporkan 16 pets mati dan ratusan lainnya sakit dan sebagian mati, yang diduga terkait erat dengan tainted pet foods (pet foods tercemar oleh asam cyanurat). Tanpa ada penyelidikan lebih lanjut. Asam cyanurat dan melamine banyak dipakai sebagai bahan pencemar pada gluten gandung dan protein konsentrat beras. Dimana gluten dan protein konsentrat beras sebagai bahan baku utama pet foods.

sumber :  http://www.pork.org/NewsAndInformation

Metabolism/Pharmacokinetics of MELAMINE

Absorption, Distribution & Excretion:
… A single oral dose of 0.025 mCi (0.38 mg) [14C]melamine /was administered/ to adult male Fischer 344 rats. Within the first 24 hr, 90% of the administered dose was excreted in the urine. Negligible radioactivity appeared in breath and feces. There was little difference in blood, liver or plasma concentrations of 14C, suggesting that melamine distributes in body water. The only organs showing radioactivity levels much higher than plasma were the kidney and bladder. The bladder level was by far the highest, a finding probably due either to back diffusion from urine or to contamination of bladder tissue with urine. Virtually no residual radioactivity was observed in tissues examined at 24 hr or later. The elimination-phase half-life calculated from plasma data, 2.7 hr, was in good agreement with the urinary-excretion half-life of 3.0 hr. The renal clearance of melamine was 2.5 mL/min.
[Mast RW et al; Food Chem Toxicol 21 (6): 807-10 (1983) ]**PEER REVIEWED** PubMed Abstract

… Following oral administration of 250 mg/kg melamine to rats, 50% of the mother compound was excreted with the urine within 6 hrs. … Crystals found in the urine were composed of dimelamine monophosphate, amounting to nearly 20% of the administered dose. After feeding melamine to dogs, 60 – 86.5% of the mother compound was recovered in the urine within 24 hrs. …
[European Chemicals Bureau; IUCLID Dataset, Melamine (CAS # 108-78-1) p.79 Available from the Database Query page at: http://ecb.jrc.it/esis/esis.php as of June 26, 2007. ]**PEER REVIEWED**

Doses of 2.4 g/kg cause diuresis & elimination of fine crystals of dimelamine monophosphate in urine.
[Lefaux, R. Practical Toxicology of Plastics. Cleveland: CRC Press Inc., 1968., p. 330]**PEER REVIEWED**

After administration of a single oral dose of 0.38 mg (14)C-melamine to adult male Fischer 344/N rats, 90% of the administered dose was excreted in the urine within the first 24 hours. Negligible radioactivity was detected in exhaled air and feces; and radioactivity was concentrated in the kidney and bladder. Virtually no residual radioactivity was observed in tissue after 24 hours or more. Chromatography of the radioactivity found in plasma or urine indicated that melamine is not metabolized in rats.
[IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V39 340 (1986)]**PEER REVIEWED**

sources: Hazardous Substances Data Bank

MELAMINE On Human Health Effects:

Evidence for Carcinogenicity:
Evaluation: There is inadequate evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of melamine. There is sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of melamine under conditions in which it produces bladder calculi. Overall evaluation: In making the overall evaluation, the Working Group noted that a non-DNA reactive mechanism by which melamine produced urinary bladder tumors in male rats occurred only under conditions in which calculi were produced. Melamine is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans (Group 3).
[IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. 73 336 (1999)]**PEER REVIEWED**

Human Toxicity Excerpts:
/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ HUMAN SUBJECTS WERE GIVEN PATCH TESTS WITH MELAMINE. NO EVIDENCE OF EITHER PRIMARY IRRITATION OR SENSITIZATION WAS FOUND.
[Bingham, E.; Cohrssen, B.; Powell, C.H.; Patty's Toxicology Volumes 1-9 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons. New York, N.Y. (2001)., p. 4:1337]**PEER REVIEWED**

/SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS/ SUMMARY TOXICITY STATEMENT: ACUTE… MODERATE VIA ORAL ROUTE. MODERATE= MAY CAUSE REVERSIBLE OR IRREVERSIBLE CHANGES TO EXPOSED TISSUE, NOT PERMANENT INJURY OR DEATH; CAN CAUSE CONSIDERABLE DISCOMFORT.
[Sax, N.I. Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 5th ed. New York: Van Nostrand Rheinhold, 1979., p. 791]**PEER REVIEWED**

/CASE REPORTS/ DERMATITIS HAS BEEN REPORTED FROM MFR OF MELAMINE FORMALDEHYDE RESINS & GLUES. IT IS PROBABLE THAT THESE CASES WERE CHIEFLY DUE TO FORMALDEHYDE OR INTERMEDIATE REACTION PRODUCTS OF FORMALDEHYDE & MELAMINE.
[Bingham, E.; Cohrssen, B.; Powell, C.H.; Patty's Toxicology Volumes 1-9 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons. New York, N.Y. (2001)., p. 4:1337]**PEER REVIEWED**

Probable Routes of Human Exposure:
MELAMINE ITSELF DOES NOT SEEM TO BE IMPORTANT INDUSTRIAL HAZARD EXCEPT IF DECOMP BY HEAT. …SKIN SHOULD BE KEPT FREE FROM UNREACTED RESINS…
[International Labour Office. Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety. Volumes I and II. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1971., p. 852]**PEER REVIEWED**

NIOSH (NOES Survey 1981-1983) has statistically estimated that 43,104 workers (6,239 of these are female) are potentially exposed to melamine in the US(1). Occupational exposure to melamine may occur through inhalation and dermal contact with this compound at workplaces where melamine is produced or used. Monitoring data indicate that the general population may be exposed to melamine via ingestion of contaminated food(SRC).
[(1) NIOSH; NOES. National Occupational Exposure Survey conducted from 1981-1983. Estimated numbers of employees potentially exposed to specific agents by 2-digit standard industrial classification (SIC). Available at http://www.cdc.gov/noes/ as of Jun 26, 2007. ]**PEER REVIEWED**

Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank : http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@na+Melamine

MELAMINE, APA ITU? KENAPA DITAMBAHKAN KE SUSU BUBUK

Struktur 3D molekul melamine

Skandal penambahan MELAMINE pada produk susu bubuk import China telah menggegerkan di banyak negara Asia, Eropa, Amerika termasuk indonesia.  WHO dan UNICEF melaporkan Kamis ini, beberapa negara asia, Eropa telah melarang produk susu bubuk import asal china yang terkontaminasi oleh MELAMINE.

Apa itu MELAMINE? Melamine BERUPA BUBUK PUTIH yang dipergunakan dalam pembuatan barang-barang terbuat dari plastik. melamine disintesa oleh peneliti Jerman tahun 1830. Yang paling banyak dipakai adalah dalam bentuk Melamine resin yakni: campuran melamine dan formaldehide digunakan dalam formica, floor tiles, whiteboards and kitchenware. Mengapa menambahkan MELAMINE PADA SUSU BUBUK. Melamine KAYA akan nitrogen dan harganya murah, disamping warnanya yg putih sehingga sulit dideteksi dengan mata telanjang. Penambahan melamine pada susu standart rendah atau susu encer/ susu yang kadar airnya tinggi akan meningkatkan kadar protein susu bubuk. Karena metode standart untuk menguji kadar protein susu bubuk atau susu cair memakai ukuran kandungan total nitrogen. karena alasan inilah melamine ditambahkan pada makanan anjing atau kucing.  Melamine inilah sebagai penyebab banyak kasusu matinya kucing dan anjing di USA tahun lalu. Karena melamine ditambahkan pada gluten gandum dan bahan tambahan makanan binatang piaraan yang diekspor dari cina.  Tindakan tidak bertanggung jawab ini, tujuan utamanya untuk meningkatkan kadar protein makanan anjing dan kucing.

Siapa yg paling jadi korban. Sejauh ini baru 4 orang bayi meninggal di cina dan 13 ribu lainnya masuk rumah sakit setelah minum susu terkontaminasi melamine. 4 anak Hongkong juga jatuh sakit sesudah minum susu bubuk dari cina.  Lebih dari 80% anak yg sakit usianya dibawah 2 tahun.  bayi yg hanya minum susu botol paling berbahaya terkena dampak negatif dari minum susu impor dari cina.  Dampak jangka panjang apa yg akan terjadi bila mengkonsumsi susu bermelamine?  Sedikit sekali informasi ilmiah tentang dampak melamine jangka panjang pada manusia.  namun korban susu bermelamine akan terkena gagal ginjal karena melamine dapat membentuk kristal di saluran ginjal. bahkan akan menutup saluran kencing. Negara-negara yg terkena dampak susu bermelamine adalah : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Britain, Brunei, Burundi, Canada, China, France, Gabon, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Vietnam, and Yemen. 22 perusahaan di cina terbukti memproduksi susu bubuk yg sengaja dicampur dengan melamine.  JOINT VENTURES antara New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, dan  partner bisnisnya  Sanlu Group, perusahaan terkemuka penjual susu bubuk cina yang terbukti mencemari susu bubuk dengan melamine. Sumber: Reuters

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First Experiance Shopping for Leaving Town for Hurricane Ike

This short story will give an illustration for us how americans well prepared in predicting serious hurricane IKE landfall, just 1-2 weeks before hands. As I said, hurricane hits cuba island just approximately a weeks ago and hurricane Gustave, even is not really considered to be hurricane. This tropical storm hits lousiana state just about 5 days ago. and Now. texas has been hits by hurricane IKE. And I experianced this warning on wednesday sept. 10, that almost likely hurricane IKE will hits or landfall on houston beach area and may be houston town by Friday morning or Saturday sept. 13. Early, in the mornig, as weather TV CHANNEL, reporting that residents oh houston has been advised to go shopping for preparing hurricane landfall expecting by friday afternoon or Saturday morning sept 12 and 13. So My daughter and I went out for shopping. Oh my Gooss, I went to HEB big and cheap shooping mall. Oh my gooss. Thats the way, my beloved daghter, FIA, with her specific texas accent, she said, that mall was FULL with shoppers. bread, rice, water, gone from its shelves. Then we go to other shopping malls called, KROGER, This mall is a bit expensive, as You see on the left hand side fotos and the middle, shelf empty and lines was full with shoopers and their trolley fulls with their goods. and you see, on a parking cars full with cars.o  We went to other shops, camping and sports shop tried to find gas stove with propane gas. can you guess, what? Empty. Everythings finished. So We drived speedly to other shops, thats took us almost 0ne hour or may be more, on the way, a bit frustrated indeed. finally I got that very important stuff, propane gas and its stove for cooking. because has been warned by the houston authorities that by friday and saturday there may be no water and electricity supply. because of that hurricane IKE. finally, by sept 11. I went back to Indonesia, leaving my daughter family and their problems facing hurricane IKE. Fortunetly, American Goverments really well prepared in giving their warning to their people how to face a natural disaster, before its really hits their lands. I hope Indonesian government will do so, but so far not, unfortunetly. Taipe Airport Sept. 13, 2008.