in 2008, an estimated 300,000 babies became ill in china after being fed milk powder adulterated with melamine. melamine is a flame-retardant plastic most often used in industrial products like plastics, adhesives, countertops, dishware and whiteboards. though the addition of melamine to food is not approved by the world health organization’s food commission, it was nevertheless added to watered-down milk to boost the nitrogen content. in doing so, manufacturers were able to fool tests designed to detect natural amino acids – tests to ensure that the protein content of milk products meets minimum acceptable levels for human consumption.