| MSG: A Common Flavor Enhancer |
Writer: Michelle Meadows, FDA Consumer magazine
January-February 2003
Although it has no distinct taste itself, monosodium glutamate
(MSG) stimulates our taste buds and makes a variety of foods taste
better. The flavor enhancer is commonly added to Asian cuisine,
canned vegetables, soups, and processed meats. Made by a
fermentation process using starch, beet sugar, cane sugar, or
molasses, MSG is sold as a white crystal substance that resembles
salt and sugar.
Many consumers often equate all "free glutamate" products with
MSG, but it is only one of several forms of glutamate--a major
building block of proteins. Free glutamate, which results when
glutamate is released during the breakdown of a protein molecule,
occurs naturally in many foods, such as meat, milk, mushrooms,
Parmesan cheese, and tomatoes.
In 1959, the Food and Drug Administration classified MSG as a
"generally recognized as safe" food ingredient under the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. But the use of MSG in food has
remained controversial. In the 1980s, research showed that
glutamate plays an important role in the normal functioning of the
nervous system, raising questions about whether glutamate in food
could affect the nervous system.
The FDA also received numerous reports of MSG-related adverse
events, including headaches, palpitations, vomiting, and nausea.
While these voluntary reports were useful for drawing attention to
potential problems, they were unconfirmed by controlled testing.
Because of concerns about the adverse event reports, the FDA
sponsored several safety assessments which all concluded that
MSG is safe when consumed at levels typically used in cooking and
food manufacturing. In 1986, FDA's Advisory Committee on
Hypersensitivity to Food Constituents found that MSG was generally
safe, but that short-term reactions may occur in some people. Other
reports from the American Medical Association's Council on
Scientific Affairs and the European Community's Scientific
Committee for Foods reported similar findings.
Then in 1992, the FDA contracted with the Federation of American
Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), an independent group
of scientists, to complete the most comprehensive review of
available scientific data on glutamate safety to date.
The 1995 FASEB report reaffirmed the safety of MSG when it is
consumed at usual levels by the general population, and found no
evidence of any connection between MSG and any serious
long-term reactions. The report indicated that no evidence exists to
suggest that dietary MSG or glutamate contributes to Alzheimer's
disease, Huntington's disease, or any other long-term or chronic
diseases. There was also no evidence suggesting that dietary MSG
or glutamate causes brain lesions or damage to nerve cells in
humans.
But the report did identify short-term reactions known as MSG
Symptom Complex in two groups of people. The first group includes
people who may have a reaction after eating large doses of MSG,
particularly on an empty stomach. A large dose would be three
grams or more per meal. A typical serving of glutamate-treated food
contains less than 0.5 grams of MSG. The second group includes
people with severe and poorly controlled asthma.
MSG Symptom Complex can involve symptoms such as numbness,
burning sensation, tingling, facial pressure or tightness, chest pain,
headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, and weakness.
Asthmatics may experience these symptoms as well as difficulty in
breathing. Additional studies in asthmatics under controlled
conditions have not produced consistent results.
Glutamate is commonly found in food, primarily from protein
sources. Foods and ingredients that contain glutamate as an
inherent component are not required to list glutamate on the label.
Examples include tomatoes, cheeses, meats, hydrolyzed protein
products such as soy sauce, and autolyzed yeast extracts. These
ingredients are declared on the label by their common or usual
names.
It's when MSG is added to food that the FDA requires "monosodium
glutamate" to be listed on the label. Other salts of glutamic
acid--such as monopotassium glutamate and monoammonium
glutamate--also have to be declared on labels and can't be lumped
together under "spices," "natural flavoring" or other general terms.
January-February 2003
Although it has no distinct taste itself, monosodium glutamate
(MSG) stimulates our taste buds and makes a variety of foods taste
better. The flavor enhancer is commonly added to Asian cuisine,
canned vegetables, soups, and processed meats. Made by a
fermentation process using starch, beet sugar, cane sugar, or
molasses, MSG is sold as a white crystal substance that resembles
salt and sugar.
Many consumers often equate all "free glutamate" products with
MSG, but it is only one of several forms of glutamate--a major
building block of proteins. Free glutamate, which results when
glutamate is released during the breakdown of a protein molecule,
occurs naturally in many foods, such as meat, milk, mushrooms,
Parmesan cheese, and tomatoes.
In 1959, the Food and Drug Administration classified MSG as a
"generally recognized as safe" food ingredient under the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. But the use of MSG in food has
remained controversial. In the 1980s, research showed that
glutamate plays an important role in the normal functioning of the
nervous system, raising questions about whether glutamate in food
could affect the nervous system.
The FDA also received numerous reports of MSG-related adverse
events, including headaches, palpitations, vomiting, and nausea.
While these voluntary reports were useful for drawing attention to
potential problems, they were unconfirmed by controlled testing.
Because of concerns about the adverse event reports, the FDA
sponsored several safety assessments which all concluded that
MSG is safe when consumed at levels typically used in cooking and
food manufacturing. In 1986, FDA's Advisory Committee on
Hypersensitivity to Food Constituents found that MSG was generally
safe, but that short-term reactions may occur in some people. Other
reports from the American Medical Association's Council on
Scientific Affairs and the European Community's Scientific
Committee for Foods reported similar findings.
Then in 1992, the FDA contracted with the Federation of American
Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), an independent group
of scientists, to complete the most comprehensive review of
available scientific data on glutamate safety to date.
The 1995 FASEB report reaffirmed the safety of MSG when it is
consumed at usual levels by the general population, and found no
evidence of any connection between MSG and any serious
long-term reactions. The report indicated that no evidence exists to
suggest that dietary MSG or glutamate contributes to Alzheimer's
disease, Huntington's disease, or any other long-term or chronic
diseases. There was also no evidence suggesting that dietary MSG
or glutamate causes brain lesions or damage to nerve cells in
humans.
But the report did identify short-term reactions known as MSG
Symptom Complex in two groups of people. The first group includes
people who may have a reaction after eating large doses of MSG,
particularly on an empty stomach. A large dose would be three
grams or more per meal. A typical serving of glutamate-treated food
contains less than 0.5 grams of MSG. The second group includes
people with severe and poorly controlled asthma.
MSG Symptom Complex can involve symptoms such as numbness,
burning sensation, tingling, facial pressure or tightness, chest pain,
headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, and weakness.
Asthmatics may experience these symptoms as well as difficulty in
breathing. Additional studies in asthmatics under controlled
conditions have not produced consistent results.
Glutamate is commonly found in food, primarily from protein
sources. Foods and ingredients that contain glutamate as an
inherent component are not required to list glutamate on the label.
Examples include tomatoes, cheeses, meats, hydrolyzed protein
products such as soy sauce, and autolyzed yeast extracts. These
ingredients are declared on the label by their common or usual
names.
It's when MSG is added to food that the FDA requires "monosodium
glutamate" to be listed on the label. Other salts of glutamic
acid--such as monopotassium glutamate and monoammonium
glutamate--also have to be declared on labels and can't be lumped
together under "spices," "natural flavoring" or other general terms.
 |  |  |  |  |
updated on April 1, 2008
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Anti-cancer Herbs
Anti-cancer / Cancer
Prevention Diets
Cancer Prevention Foods
Turkish Diet
Mediterranean (low fat)
Diet
Compounds in broccoli
What can help prevent
colon cancer?
Pancreatic Cancer &
Veggie
Cancer Diagnostics
Colonscopy
Optical Stretcher Test
Cancer Treatment
Anti-cancer Drugs
Focal Cryoablation
Pain Treatment for Bone
Tumors
Cancer Physiology
Chemo Brain
Role of Collagen VII
Diabetes and Cancer
Cancer Promotors
Fried Food
Red Meat (FE) / Iron
KimChi / High Salt Diet