◎陳成良

U.S. researchers have developed a quick way to test milk for the presence of melamine, an industrial chemical found last year in milk in China that killed at least six children and made thousands sick.

美國研究人員已研發出一種快速檢驗牛奶是否含有三聚氰胺的方法。去年中國傳出牛奶中含有這種工業化學物質，至少造成6名兒童死亡、數千人生病。

Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana said on Wednesday the method can detect tiny traces of the chemical in liquid and powdered milk in about 25 seconds.

印地安那州普渡大學的研究人員週三表示，這種方法可以在大約25秒鐘內偵測到液態奶或奶粉中是否含有微量的三聚氰胺。

The analysis method uses a simplified version of a mass spectrometer, a tool that can be used to separate and identify molecules in compounds. The team developed the tool specifically to detect melamine, which was also found in contaminated pet food that killed thousands of dogs and cats in the United States in 2007.

這種分析方法使用到一個簡化版的質譜儀，這是一種用來在化合物中分離和識別分子的工具，該團隊將這種工具開發成為專門用於檢驗三聚氰胺的儀器。2007年在美國奪走數千隻貓狗性命的遭污染寵物食品中，也被驗出含有三聚氰胺。

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last November issued guidelines limiting melamine in dairy products to 1 part per million or less.

美國食品暨藥物管理局去年11月份公布了一份指導方針，將乳製品中三聚氰胺的含量限制到百萬分之一或更少。

"This situation created an immediate need for an analytical method that is highly sensitive, fast, accurate and easy to use," R. Graham Cooks, who led the team, said in statement.

「在這種狀況下，需要立即出現一種高敏銳度、快速、準確、方便使用的分析方法」，該研究團隊的負責人庫克斯在聲明中說。

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