"Steve Pope" > wrote:
> wff_ng_7 > wrote:
>> The reason both chemicals are believed to be present is that
>> the adulteration was not done with pure melamine, but with
>> melamine industrial scrap
>
> That part I haven't heard. There's also the bacteria theory.
> In any case the two chemicals are closely related and they
> crystallize together into huge, damaging crystals.

I've read the melamine scrap connection in several articles now. It has made its
way into the Wikipedia entry for melamine
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine):
--
On May 2, Richard Goldstein of the Cornell University College of Veterinary
Medicine, in response to reports that the contaminant might be "melamine scrap",
hypothesized: "It's possible the other stuff they were left with was the
bottom-of-the-barrel stuff, leftover melamine and possibly cyanuric acid. I
think it's this melamine with other compounds that is toxic."
--

In addition, I've read (probably on the NY Times web site) that the company that
shipped the contaminated wheat gluten to the USA has many times advertised on a
Chinese business web site requesting supplies of scrap melamine. One comes to
the conclusion that the request for melamine scrap is directly related to the
melamine being in the wheat gluten.

--
wff_ng_7 (at) verizon (dot) net