Melamine resin
MF / resin identification code 7（その他）
Tableware and melamine sponges. Bamboo-blend tableware banned from sale in some EU countries.
Main uses
- Melamine tableware
- Melamine sponges
Found in food, water and the human body
- In a Dutch authority survey (2019), 88% of 46 bamboo-and-melamine cups met the formaldehyde migration limit, and some exceeded it by a large margin (Bouma et al. 2022)
- Rubbing a melamine sponge can release 6.5 million tiny fibers per g (Su et al. 2024)
Evaluations of raw materials and additives
- Melamine is IARC Group 2B, and formaldehyde is Group 1
IARC classifications rate the strength of evidence that something can cause cancer, not the size of the risk at everyday amounts.
Japan's standards (utensils, containers and packaging that touch food)
- MHLW Notification No. 370 (phenol resin, melamine resin, urea resin): formaldehyde negative, phenol 5 μg/mL or less, and other limits
General standards for all synthetic resins: cadmium and lead in the material 100 μg/g or less each, heavy metals migrating (as lead) 1 μg/mL or less, and others. Since June 2020, synthetic resins that touch food have been under a “positive list system” that sets which substances may be used (the transition period ended May 31, 2025). → Rules and regulation
Production in Japan
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melamine resin (all uses) | 65,112 t | 61,983 t | 61,749 t |
Compiled by the Japan Plastics Industry Federation (based on METI's production statistics). This is the amount made in Japan, not the amount used in Japan.
Sources
- Bouma K, et al. Chemosphere 2022;292:133439 (PMID 34968515)
- Su Y, et al. Environ Sci Technol 2024;58(24):10764-10775 (PMID 38843113)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, standards for utensils, containers and packaging (Notification No. 370, Part 3) (Japanese)
- IARC List of Classifications
- Japan Plastics Industry Federation, statistics (Japanese)
Last checked 2026-10-01. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.