Switzerland develops faster technique for melamine detection

Switzerland's researchers have developed a faster technique to detect the presence of melamine in liquids, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (EPFZ) said.

Detecting melamine in liquid took 20-60 minutes, but the new method has significantly reduced the time to 30 seconds.

A technique known as mass spectrometry is used to reduce testing time, said Renato Zenobi, professor of analytical chemistry at the Organic Chemistry Laboratory at EPFZ.

Mass spectrometry is a technique used to measure the masses of atoms and molecules in a material or liquid.

Last year, melamine-tainted milk in China killed at least six infants and sickened nearly 300,000 children. The scandal shook not only China, but also countries worldwide as they started detecting melamine in several dairy products, leading to a mass ban on China-made dairy products.