Did the Chinese Academy of Sciences invent melamine fodder supplement?

Beijing Daily Messenger
October 31, 2008

In the wake of a string of melamine-related food safety scares, netizens are pointing their fingers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences for inventing and promoting fodder supplements containing melamine.

The evidence is an advertisement that appeared on the Internet about nine years ago.

The advertisement, which was originally put online in 1999, is about a technology used to manufacture an animal feed supplement called “DH Composite High-protein Fodder Supplement”. The ad claimed that the technology can be used to manufacture “high protein fodder using organic nitrogen and special catalysts”.

This has raised suspicion that the supplement it advertises is what we now know as the “kidney stone chemical” — melamine. The technology was sold for 10,000 yuan plus an extra 5,000 yuan for training.

Yesterday, in a news conference, Jiang Xiezhu (蒋协助), spokesman of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said that the an investigation launched by the academy itself shows that though the academy did sell the advertised technology in 1999, the supplement has nothing to do with melamine.

According to Gao Yinxiang (高银相), formal director of Appliance Technology Institute of CAS, whose name appears on the advertisement, the technology has never been sold, and the ad was withdrawn in 2000 as soon as he knew about it. Gao refused to give information about who released the advertisement, and was repeated that “it was more than 10 years ago.” Gao was suspended from his job during the investigation, but has now resumed working.

Though there is no information about the chemical constitution of the advertised supplement, an article in today’s The Beijing News quoted Chen Junshi (陈君石), a research fellow of a food safety research institution, saying that the main ingredient of a fodder supplement called “Protein Essence” is melamine, which can be used to artificially raise protein measurements.