Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the
sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
of
glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es and
cheese in this glutamic acid form.
MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with an
umami
Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats.
People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...
taste that intensifies the meaty, savory flavor of food, as naturally occurring glutamate does in foods such as
stews and meat soups.
MSG was first prepared in 1908 by Japanese
biochemist Kikunae Ikeda
was a Japanese chemist and Tokyo Imperial University professor of chemistry who, in 1908, uncovered the chemical basis of a taste he named umami. It is one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, bitter, sour and salty.
Ikeda graduated in ...
, who was trying to isolate and duplicate the savory taste of ''
kombu
''Konbu'' (from ja, 昆布, konbu or kombu) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' ( ko, 다시마) or ''haidai'' ().
Kelp features in the diets of many ...
'', an edible
seaweed used as a base for many Japanese soups. MSG balances, blends, and rounds the perception of other tastes.
MSG is commonly used and found in
stock (bouillon) cubes,
soups,
ramen
is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle di ...
,
gravy
Gravy is a sauce often made from the juices of meats that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or corn starch for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a simple mix of salt ...
,
stews,
condiment
A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separat ...
s, savory
snacks, etc.
The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
has given MSG its
generally recognized as safe (GRAS) designation.
It is a popular belief that MSG can cause
headaches
Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.
Headaches can occur as a result ...
and other feelings of discomfort, known as "
Chinese restaurant syndrome
Glutamate flavoring is the generic name for flavor-enhancing compounds based on glutamic acid and its salts (glutamates). These compounds provide an umami (savory) taste to food.
Glutamic acid and glutamates are natural constituents of man ...
". Several
blinded studies show no such effects when MSG is combined with food in normal concentrations, and are inconclusive when MSG is added to broth in large concentrations.
The
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
classifies it as a
food additive permitted in certain foods and subject to quantitative limits. MSG has the
HS code 29224220 and the
E number E621.
Use
Pure MSG is reported to not have a highly pleasant taste until it is combined with a savory
aroma
An odor (American English) or odour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their se ...
.
The basic sensory function of MSG is attributed to its ability to enhance savory taste-active compounds when added in the proper concentration.
The optimal concentration varies by food; in
clear soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ...
, the "pleasure score" rapidly falls with the addition of more than one gram of MSG per 100 mL.
The sodium content (in
mass percent
In chemistry, the mass fraction of a substance within a mixture is the ratio w_i (alternatively denoted Y_i) of the mass m_i of that substance to the total mass m_\text of the mixture. Expressed as a formula, the mass fraction is:
: w_i = \frac . ...
) of MSG, 12.28%, is about one-third of that in
sodium chloride (39.34%), due to the greater mass of the glutamate counterion.
Although other salts of glutamate have been used in low-salt soups, they are less palatable than MSG.
Food scientist
Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development ...
Steve Witherly noted in 2017 that MSG may promote healthy eating by enhancing the flavor of food such as
kale while reducing the use of
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
.
The
ribonucleotide
In biochemistry, a ribonucleotide is a nucleotide containing ribose as its pentose component. It is considered a molecular precursor of nucleic acids. Nucleotides are the basic building blocks of DNA and RNA. Ribonucleotides themselves are basic ...
food additives
disodium inosinate
Disodium inosinate (E631) is the disodium salt of inosinic acid with the chemical formula C10H11N4Na2O8P. It is used as a food additive and often found in instant noodles, potato chips, and a variety of other snacks. Although it can be obtained ...
(E631) and
disodium guanylate
Disodium guanylate, also known as sodium 5'-guanylate and disodium 5'-guanylate, is a natural sodium salt of the flavor enhancing nucleotide guanosine monophosphate (GMP). Disodium guanylate is a food additive with the E number E627. It is commo ...
(E627), as well as conventional salt are usually used with monosodium glutamate-containing ingredients as they seem to have a synergistic effect. "Super salt" is a mixture of 9 parts salt, to one part MSG and 0.1 parts disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate.
Safety
MSG is
generally recognized as safe to eat.
[ A popular belief is that MSG can cause headaches and other feelings of discomfort, but blinded tests have not provided strong evidence of this.] International bodies governing food additives currently consider MSG safe for human consumption as a flavor enhancer. Under normal conditions, humans can metabolize relatively large quantities of glutamate, which is naturally produced in the gut in the course of protein hydrolysis. The median lethal dose (LD50) is between 15 and 18 g/kg body weight in rats and mice, respectively, five times the LD50 of sodium chloride (3 g/kg in rats). The use of MSG as a food additive and the natural levels of glutamic acid in foods are not of toxic concern in humans. Specifically MSG in the diet does not increase glutamate in the brain or affect brain function.
A 1995 report from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is a non-profit organization that is the principal umbrella organization of U.S. societies in the field of biological and medical research. This organization organizes academ ...
(FASEB) for the United States Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...
(FDA) concluded that MSG is safe when "eaten at customary levels" and, although a subgroup of otherwise-healthy individuals develop an MSG symptom complex when exposed to 3 g of MSG in the absence of food, MSG as a cause has not been established because the symptom reports are anecdotal.
According to the report, no data supports the role of glutamate in chronic disease. High quality evidence has failed to demonstrate a relationship between the MSG symptom complex and actual MSG consumption. No association has been demonstrated, and the few responses were inconsistent. No symptoms were observed when MSG was used in food.
Adequately controlling for experimental bias includes a blinded, placebo-controlled
Placebo-controlled studies are a way of testing a medical therapy in which, in addition to a group of subjects that receives the treatment to be evaluated, a separate control group receives a sham "placebo" treatment which is specifically designed ...
experimental design
The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...
and administration by capsule, because of the unique aftertaste of glutamates. In a 1993 study, 71 fasting participants were given 5 g of MSG and then a standard breakfast. One reaction (to the placebo, in a self-identified MSG-sensitive individual) occurred. A 2000 study tested the reaction of 130 subjects with a reported sensitivity to MSG. Multiple trials were performed, with subjects exhibiting at least two symptoms continuing. Two people out of the 130 responded to all four challenges. Because of the low prevalence, the researchers concluded that a response to MSG was not reproducible.
Studies exploring MSG's role in obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
have yielded mixed results.
Although several studies have investigated anecdotal links between MSG and asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...
, current evidence does not support a causal association.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) MSG technical report concludes, "There is no convincing evidence that MSG is a significant factor in causing systemic reactions resulting in severe illness or mortality. The studies conducted to date on Chinese restaurant syndrome (CRS) have largely failed to demonstrate a causal association with MSG. Symptoms resembling those of CRS may be provoked in a clinical setting in small numbers of individuals by the administration of large doses of MSG without food. However, such effects are neither persistent nor serious and are likely to be attenuated when MSG is consumed with food. In terms of more serious adverse effects such as the triggering of bronchospasm
Bronchospasm or a bronchial spasm is a sudden constriction of the muscles in the walls of the bronchioles. It is caused by the release (degranulation) of substances from mast cells or basophils under the influence of anaphylatoxins. It causes di ...
in asthmatic individuals, the evidence does not indicate that MSG is a significant trigger factor."
However, the FSANZ MSG report says that although no data is available on average MSG consumption in Australia and New Zealand, "data from the United Kingdom indicates an average intake of 590 mg/day, with extreme users (97.5th percentile consumers) consuming 2,330 mg/day" (Rhodes et al. 1991). In a highly seasoned restaurant meal, intakes as high as 5,000 mg or more may be possible (Yang et al. 1997). When very large doses of MSG (>5 g MSG in a bolus dose) are ingested, plasma glutamate concentration will significantly increase. However, the concentration typically returns to normal within two hours. In general, foods providing metabolizable carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or m ...
significantly attenuate peak plasma glutamate levels at doses up to 150 mg/kg body weight. Two earlier studiesthe 1987 Joint FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
/WHO
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the 1995 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is a non-profit organization that is the principal umbrella organization of U.S. societies in the field of biological and medical research. This organization organizes academ ...
(FASEB)concluded, "there may be a small number of unstable asthmatics who respond to doses of 1.5–2.5 g of MSG in the absence of food". The FASEB evaluation concluded, "sufficient evidence exists to indicate some individuals may experience manifestations of CRS when exposed to a ≥3 g bolus dose of MSG in the absence of food".
A recent report in Toxicology Reports claims that a MSG mixed High Lipid Diet leads to dyslipidemia, silently developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease followed by metabolic alterations and systemic anomalies, even malignancies, via modulating different signaling pathways.
Production
MSG has been produced by three methods: hydrolysis
Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile.
Biological hydrolys ...
of vegetable proteins with hydrochloric acid to disrupt peptide bonds (1909–1962); direct chemical synthesis with acrylonitrile
Acrylonitrile is an organic compound with the formula and the structure . It is a colorless, volatile liquid although commercial samples can be yellow due to impurities. It has a pungent odor of garlic or onions. In terms of its molecula ...
(1962–1973), and bacterial fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
(the current method).[ Wheat gluten was originally used for ]hydrolysis
Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile.
Biological hydrolys ...
because it contains more than 30 g of glutamate and glutamine in 100 g of protein. As demand for MSG increased, chemical synthesis and fermentation were studied. The polyacrylic fiber industry began in Japan during the mid-1950s, and acrylonitrile
Acrylonitrile is an organic compound with the formula and the structure . It is a colorless, volatile liquid although commercial samples can be yellow due to impurities. It has a pungent odor of garlic or onions. In terms of its molecula ...
was adopted as a base material to synthesize MSG.
As of 2016, most MSG worldwide is produced by bacterial fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
in a process similar to making vinegar or yogurt. Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...
is added later, for neutralization. During fermentation, '' Corynebacterium'' species, cultured with ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...
and carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or m ...
s from sugar beets, sugarcane, tapioca
Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America ...
or molasses, excrete amino acids into a culture broth from which L-glutamate is isolated. The Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Company developed industrial fermentation to produce L-glutamate.
The conversion yield and production rate (from sugars to glutamate) continues to improve in the industrial production of MSG, keeping up with demand. The product, after filtration, concentration, acidification, and crystallization, is glutamate, sodium, and water.
Chemical properties
The compound is usually available as the monohydrate
In chemistry, a hydrate is a substance that contains water or its constituent elements. The chemical state of the water varies widely between different classes of hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was underst ...
, a white, odorless, crystalline powder. The solid contains separate sodium cations and glutamate anions in zwitterion
In chemistry, a zwitterion ( ; ), also called an inner salt or dipolar ion, is a molecule that contains an equal number of positively- and negatively-charged functional groups.
: With amino acids, for example, in solution a chemical equilibrium wil ...
ic form, −OOC-CH()-()2-COO−. In solution it dissociates into glutamate and sodium ions.
MSG is freely soluble in water, but it is not hygroscopic
Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption or adsorption from the surrounding environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water molecules become suspended among the substan ...
and is insoluble in common organic solvents (such as ether
In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be ...
). It is generally stable under food-processing conditions. MSG does not break down during cooking and, like other amino acids, will exhibit a Maillard reaction
The Maillard reaction ( ; ) is a chemical reaction between Amino acid, amino acids and Reducing sugar, reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor. Searing, Seared steaks, fried dumplings, cookies and other kinds of biscuits, b ...
(browning) in the presence of sugars at very high temperatures.[
]
History
Glutamic acid was discovered and identified in 1866 by the German chemist Karl Heinrich Ritthausen
Karl Heinrich Ritthausen (13 January 1826 – 16 October 1912) was a German biochemist who identified two amino acids and made other contributions to the science of plant proteins.
Education
Ritthausen was born in Armenruh, near Goldburg, Sil ...
, who treated wheat gluten
Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. Although "gluten" often only refers to wheat proteins, in medical literature it refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins naturally occurring in all grai ...
(for which it was named) with sulfuric acid. Kikunae Ikeda
was a Japanese chemist and Tokyo Imperial University professor of chemistry who, in 1908, uncovered the chemical basis of a taste he named umami. It is one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, bitter, sour and salty.
Ikeda graduated in ...
of Tokyo Imperial University
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
isolated glutamic acid as a taste substance in 1908 from the seaweed ''Laminaria japonica
''Saccharina japonica'' is a marine species of the Phaeophyceae (brown algae) class, a type of kelp or seaweed, which is extensively cultivated on ropes between the seas of China, Japan and Korea. It has the common name sweet kelp. It is widely ...
'' (''kombu
''Konbu'' (from ja, 昆布, konbu or kombu) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' ( ko, 다시마) or ''haidai'' ().
Kelp features in the diets of many ...
'') by aqueous extraction and crystallization, calling its taste ''umami
Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats.
People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...
'' ("pleasant savory taste"). Ikeda noticed that ''dashi
is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour b ...
'', the Japanese broth of '' katsuobushi'' and ''kombu
''Konbu'' (from ja, 昆布, konbu or kombu) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' ( ko, 다시마) or ''haidai'' ().
Kelp features in the diets of many ...
'', had a unique taste not yet scientifically described (not sweet, salty, sour, or bitter). To determine which glutamate could result in the taste of ''umami'', he studied the taste properties of numerous glutamate salts such as calcium, potassium, ammonium, and magnesium glutamate. Of these salts, monosodium glutamate was the most soluble and palatable, as well as the easiest to crystallize. Ikeda called his product "monosodium glutamate" and submitted a patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
to produce MSG;[Ikeda K (1908). "A production method of seasoning mainly consists of salt of L-glutamic acid". ''Japanese Patent'' 14804.] the Suzuki brothers began commercial production of MSG in 1909 using the term Ajinomoto
is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, interlayer insulating materials for semiconductor packages for use in personal computers, cooking oils, frozen foods, beverages, sweeteners, amino acids, ...
("essence of taste").
Society and culture
Regulations
United States
MSG is one of several forms of glutamic acid found in foods, in large part because glutamic acid (an amino acid) is pervasive in nature. Glutamic acid and its salts may be present in a variety of other additives, including hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) products are foodstuffs obtained by protein hydrolysis and are used as ingredients to create a bouillon (broth) taste without the vegetables, bones, simmering, or other standard elements of creating bouillon fr ...
, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract
Yeast extracts consist of the cell contents of yeast without the cell walls; they are used as food additives or flavorings, or as nutrients for bacterial culture media. They are often used to create savory flavors and umami taste sensations, ...
, soy
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...
extracts, and protein isolate, which must be specifically labeled. Since 1998, MSG cannot be included in the term "spices and flavorings". However, the term "natural flavor" is used by the food industry for glutamic acid (chemically similar to MSG, lacking only the sodium ion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
). The Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA) does not require disclosure of components and amounts of "natural flavor."
Australia and New Zealand
Standard 1.2.4 of the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code requires MSG to be labeled in packaged foods. The label must have the food-additive class name (e.g. "flavour enhancer"), followed by the name of the additive ("MSG") or its International Numbering System
The International Numbering System for Food Additives (INS) is a European-based naming system for food additives, aimed at providing a short designation of what may be a lengthy actual name."Class Names and the International Numbering System for F ...
(INS) number, 621.
Pakistan
The Punjab Food Authority banned Ajinomoto, commonly known as Chinese salt, which contains MSG, from being used in food products in the Punjab Province of Pakistan in January 2018.
Names
The following are alternative names for MSG:
* Chemical names and identifiers
** Monosodium glutamate or sodium glutamate
** Sodium 2-aminopentanedioate
** Glutamic acid, monosodium salt, monohydrate
** L-Glutamic acid, monosodium salt, monohydrate
** L-Monosodium glutamate monohydrate
** Monosodium L-glutamate monohydrate
** MSG monohydrate
** Sodium glutamate monohydrate
** UNII-W81N5U6R6U
** Flavour enhancer E621
* Trade names
** Accent, produced by B&G Foods
B&G Foods is an American branded foods holding company based in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company was formed in 1996 to acquire Bloch & Guggenheimer, a Manhattan-based producer of pickles, relish and condiments which had been founded in 1889. ...
Inc., Parsippany, New Jersey, US
** Aji-No-Moto, produced by Ajinomoto
is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, interlayer insulating materials for semiconductor packages for use in personal computers, cooking oils, frozen foods, beverages, sweeteners, amino acids, ...
, 26 countries, head office Japan
** Tasting Powder
** Ve-Tsin by Tien Chu Ve-Tsin
Tien Chu Ve-Tsin Chemical Limited () is a Chinese manufacturer of honey by-products, food chemicals and additives including monosodium glutamate or MSG.
Founded in Shanghai in 1921, the firm also had operations in Hong Kong (established in 1937). ...
** Sazón, distributed by Goya Foods
Goya Foods, Inc. is an American producer of a brand of foods sold in the United States and many Spanish-speaking countries. It has facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Spain. It is under third-generation ownersh ...
, Jersey City, NJ
Stigma in Western countries
Origin
A controversy surrounding the safety of MSG began on 4 April 1968, when Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the ''New England Journal of Medicine
''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one.
His ...
'', coining the term "Chinese restaurant syndrome". In his letter, Kwok suggested several possible causes before he nominated MSG for his symptoms. This letter was initially met with insider satirical responses, some using race as prop for humorous effect, within the medical community.[ Some claimed that during the discursive uptake in media, the conversations were recontextualized as legitimate while the supposed race-based motivations of the humor were not parsed.][ Thirty years after the Chinese restaurant syndrome was debunked, stigmas about MSG persist.
In January 2018, Dr. Howard Steel claimed that the letter was actually a prank submission by him under the pseudonym Ho Man Kwok.] However, there was a Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok who worked at the National Biomedical Research Foundation, both names Steel claimed to have invented. Kwok's children, his colleague at the research foundation, and the son of his boss there confirmed that Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok, who had died in 2014, wrote this letter. After hearing about Kwok's family, Steel's daughter Anna came to believe this claim itself was one of the last pranks by her late father.
Reactions
Researchers, doctors, and activists have tied the controversy about MSG to xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
and racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
against Chinese culture, saying that East Asian cuisine is being targeted while the widespread use of MSG in other processed food hasn't been stigmatized. These activists have claimed that the perpetuation of the negative image of MSG through the Chinese restaurant syndrome was caused by "xenophobic" or "racist" biases.
Food historian Ian Mosby wrote that fear of MSG in Chinese food is part of the US's long history of viewing the "exotic" cuisine of Asia as dangerous and dirty. In 2016, Anthony Bourdain stated in Parts Unknown that "I think MSG is good stuff ... You know what causes Chinese restaurant syndrome? Racism".
In 2020, Ajinomoto
is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, interlayer insulating materials for semiconductor packages for use in personal computers, cooking oils, frozen foods, beverages, sweeteners, amino acids, ...
, the first corporation to mass-produce MSG for consumers and today its leading manufacturer, launched the #RedefineCRS campaign to combat what it said was the myth that MSG is harmful to people's health, saying it intended to highlight the xenophobic prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
against East Asian cuisine
This is a list of Asian cuisines, by region. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a specific culture or region. Asia, being the largest, most populous and culturally diverse continent, ...
and the scientific evidence.
In 2021, Chinese Michelin 3-star chef Kwong Wai-keung said, "I tell my chefs if you know ingredients are not good, don't use them, because they can affect the customers' health. ..We T'ang_Court.html" ;"title="Langham Hospitality Group#Michelin-starred restaurants">T'ang Court">Langham Hospitality Group#Michelin-starred restaurants">T'ang Courtuse chicken powder, not MSG. If you wouldn't eat it, then don't serve it to the guests."
See also
References
External links
The Facts on Monosodium Glutamate (EUFIC)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monosodium Glutamate
E-number additives
Edible salt
Flavor enhancers
Food additives
Glutamates
Japanese inventions
Organic sodium salts
Umami enhancers