Ajinomoto Panda Bottle - © Ajinomoto via the Japan Times

Has MSG’s Reputation Been Rehabilitated?

When most North Americans  think of MSG – Mono-Sodium Glutamate – they think, ‘Oh! Bad for you!’ But that view is changing, according to recent research and changing social norms. I just read a long piece in The New Yorker about one serious Foodie who now calls herself ‘an MSG convert’…

MSG is packaged under clean room conditions - © The HinduMSG is packaged under clean room conditions at the Ajinomoto plant in Japan.
The company is the world’s largest producer of the seasoning, shipping
more than (US)$10 billion worth of the product each year.

There was a time, not long ago, when doctors and scientists warned that MSG was bad for you. They even coined the name ‘Chinese Food Syndrome’ to describe the discomfort some folks experienced when they ate foods prepared with the substance. There was much talk about ‘the MSG allergy’.

Now, things have changed…

In 1999, Harvard Magazine published a lengthy piece by noted food writer Jeffery Steingarten titled, ‘Why Doesn’t Everyone In China Have a Headache?”, in which he systematically tore down all the traditional objections to MSG.

No less an authority on the world’s cuisines than Anthony Bourdain remarked, in a 2016 episode of his hit CNN series Parts Unknown, “You know what causes Chinese Restaurant Syndrome? Racism.” He, too, may have a point. MSG originally came to North America in the 1920s, and was used mainly in Chinese Restaurants until the 50s.

Just the facts, please…

On a strictly scientific level, medical authorities, back in the late 1960s, worried that MSG use would lead to sodium abuse, which had just been firmly linked to the development of cardiac disease.

Who among us – aside from me, of course – is old enough to remember the one and only major commercial attempt to popularize MSG in North America? Does the brand name Ac’cent ring a bell? It was marketed as a third seasoning, in league with Salt and Pepper, and was touted to bring out the hidden flavours in foods. In modern terms, it was spiking the umami in almost everything folks chose to consume.

The secret to the ‘secret ingredient’ is the Glutamine, an amino acid that works the umamai magic on your taste buds. The Sodium is just there to stabilize it, so it can be dried into flakes.

Glutamate occurs naturally in many foods, notably those treats we consider ultra-umami: aged Cheeses, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, fermented products and savoury condiments, notably Worcestershire Sauce. It’s also abundant in Breast Milk, but almost totally absent in Cow’s Milk. I guess nature and evolution have teamed up to make Breast Milk as attractive as possible to infants, so they’ll drink more and be healthier.

So, why not go for it?

As the author of the New Yorker story notes, MSG can give almost any food, from Meats, to Veggies, to Fruits, a flavour explosion. And isn’t enjoying our food the most important part of dining?

~ Maggie J.