The Effects Of Melamine-Contaminated Feed And The Safety Of Eggs

Eggs from chickens that consumed extremely high levels of melamine in their feed still did not contain levels of the potentially toxic contaminant that exceeded U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits. That was the conclusion of the first study to check on the effects of melamine-contaminated feed in laying hens. It appears in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

Liying Zhang and colleagues note that melamine, which is used to make certain plastics, triggered a public health controversy in 2008 because certain food manufacturers in China illegally added it to milk powder to distort the protein content. Authorities have since found excessive levels of melamine in eggs from chickens eating feed contaminated with the substance. However, scientists did not know how much melamine might accumulate in eggs from this process, until now. Read more

Giant Snails Could Address Malnutrition

A nutritionist in Nigeria says that malnutrition and iron deficiency in schoolchildren could be reduced in her country by baking up snail pie. In a research paper to be published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, she explains snail is not only cheaper and more readily available than beef but contains more protein.

Ukpong Udofia of the Department of Home Economics, at the University of Uyo, has looked at the moisture levels, protein content, and iron composition of the flesh of the giant West African land snail and compared it to beef steak. Snail pie is much more nutritious than a beef pie, she says.

Udofia and her research team baked pies of both varieties and asked young mothers and their children to try the tasty meal. Most of them preferred the taste and texture of the pies baked with the snail Archachatina marginata to those made with beef. The kids and their mothers judged the snail pies to have a better appearance, texture, and flavor. Read more