What is Melamine

From AnswerCop

Melamine (Template:Pron-en) is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred, and has several other industrial uses. Melamine is also a metabolite of cyromazine, a pesticide. It is formed in the body of mammals who have ingested cyromazine.<ref>Report on cyromazine of the European Medicines Agency</ref> It has been reported that cyromazine can also be converted to melamine in plants.<ref>Lori 0. Lim, Susan J. Scherer, Kenneth D. Shuler, and John P. Toth. Disposition of Cyromazine in Plants under Environmental Conditions J. Agric. Food Chem. 1990, 38, 860–864 [1]</ref><ref>FAO report on cyromazine</ref>

Melamine combines with cyanuric acid to form melamine cyanurate, which has been implicated as a contaminant in Chinese exported proteins.