The way products are marketed, you might think that MSG is one of the most harmful food additives that you can have. Labels often say, “No MSG,” as if the lack of this flavor enhancer is a good reason to buy the product.
In reality, there really is very little reason you shouldn’t consume this food additive. It makes your meals taste better, it might even be good for you in a way, and avoiding is likely not necessary unless you have a sensitivity to it — which is rare.
What is MSG?
MSG stands for monosodium glutamate. It’s one of many food additives that you can find in everyday meals as a flavor enhancer. It’s commonly used Chinese food, but it’s also in other foods including:
- deli meats
- canned vegetables
- certain chips like Doritos
- restaurant foods
- many packaged foods or processed foods
- barbecue sauce
- salad dressings
- fried chicken
- soy sauce
It’s essentially a type of salt. It contains glutamic acid — which we make at M&U — with sodium content added. It gives foods an umami taste — or a meaty flavor. Interestingly, if you were to put MSG on your tongue, it wouldn’t have that flavor alone. It simply brings out the savory flavor in whatever you are cooking.
How Monosodium Glutamate Was Discovered
Monosodium glutamate is a chemical that you can find in natural products like tomatoes and corn. This is actually what led to its discovery in the early 20th century.
Before this time, everyone assumed that there were only four types of taste: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. However, when Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda had visited Germany, he realized there was a taste in some of the country’s regional foods that seemed different from those four. He wanted to learn what it was.
The opportunity came because of his wife’s cooking. She had been using kelp to make cooking stock in some soup she was making. He started studying the kelp and realized that it had a fifth basic taste, which is the umami flavors we mentioned above. Through a series of tests, he discovered that glutamic acid was the reason for this new savory taste.
Why Add Sodium?
Once Ikeda figured out that glutamic acid was the culprit, he wanted to find a way to manufacture that taste. The problem he ran into was that glutamic acid itself was kind of sour. He figured out that when he adds an element, that restores the umami flavor.
He actually tried different elements, including calcium and potassium. In the end, he found that sodium was the easiest to dissolve in water, and it did the best job as a flavor enhancer.
How Monosodium Glutamate MSG is Produced
The first step in producing monosodium glutamate is isolating glutamic acid. A common way to do that is by fermenting starch — from plants like corn or cassava — or fermenting sugar cane.
In fermentation, glucose is eaten up by microbes, and in return, they create glutamic acid. It’s a very similar process to how alcohol is produced in wine and beer.
Once the glutamic acid is produced, it goes through a process called neutralization, where it reacts with sodium hydroxide. One of the hydrogens from the glutamic acid combines with the hydroxide and creates water. The resulting glutamate then gets the sodium and becomes monosodium glutamate.
The MSG is now part of a solution, which gets filtered, decolorized, and then crystallized into the salt-like substance that is used as a food ingredient.
The Reason People Avoid It — MSG Symptom Complex
MSG symptom complex is a list of symptoms that some people have reported after eating foods that contain MSG.
Some of these symptoms include numbness tingling or burning around the mouth, heart palpitations, drowsiness, flushing, and headaches.
Reports of the complex started in 1968 when a letter was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Since then, people have reported feeling these symptoms after having MSG.
MSG Symptom Complex Debunked
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration actually did a study that looked into whether this flavor enhancer — which makes food taste more savory — is harmful. The agency found that there was no link between MSG consumption and those symptoms. But scientists say a small number of people might have sensitivities to it.
Because there is some debate about MSG, the FDA requires that the food additive be reported on labels. With that being said, the agency gives it the classification of “generally recognized as safe.”
Bigotry May Be To Blame
There is a lot of speculation that a big reason this food additive has been so villainized has to do with anti-Asian sentiment. When it was discovered, the U.S. was putting forth a lot of effort to keep Chinese people out of the country.
That’s partially why the MSG symptom complex was at one time known as “Chinese restaurant syndrome.” MSG was heavily associated with Chinese people, and that term has since been labeled as “potentially offensive” by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
MSG Can Be Better Than Other Food Additives
One of the biggest food additives you can think of is likely sodium chloride, also known as table salt. While MSG also has sodium content, it’s less than table salt. So if you substitute at least some table salt with MSG, you can lower the total sodium by as much as 37%.
Other Uses For Glutamic Acid
Glutamic acid isn’t just for the food industry. It’s actually an amino acid that people can buy as a supplement if they need it. You can get single-use amino acids or you can get them in combinations. It’s not recommended to take single-use amino acids over the long term.
Some of the health benefits associated with glutamic acid include treatment of intellectual disorders, low blood sugar, epilepsy, and more. However, it’s important to note that scientists have yet to prove that these health benefits are real.
Get Glutamic Acid From M&U
Glutamic acid is just one of many chemicals that we sell at M&U. We have over a thousand products to choose from for a variety of uses.
If you’re a business owner who needs any kind of chemical for products that you sell — whether it be glutamic acid or anything else — contact our sales team. We’ll help you get what you need.
