What is MSG and is it really bad for you?

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What is MSG?

MSG is a flavour enhancer that intensifies the savoury or umami taste in foods. It’s made by combining glutamic acid, an amino acid naturally found in foods like tomatoes, aged cheeses and mushrooms, with sodium.

It was created in 1908 by Professor Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese biochemist working at the University of Tokyo, who extracted glutamate from dashi – a broth made from kelp – and found it produced an intense savoury taste. He found that combining glutamate with sodium helped to balance the flavour and made it easier to use. He began producing MSG a year later. Today, instead of extracting and crystallising MSG from seaweed, it is produced by the fermentation of starch, sugar beet, sugar cane or molasses. This process is similar to that used to make yogurt, vinegar and wine.

Is MSG friend or foe?

While many people believe that MSG is linked with health problems and prefer to avoid it, the latest research suggests otherwise. The negative press around MSG has largely been fuelled by studies in which lab rats were fed or injected with extremely high doses of MSG. Well controlled double-blind studies in humans have failed to establish a conclusive link between MSG and health problems.

Health authorities around the world, including the US Food & Drug Administration, the European Food Safety Authority and the UK Food Standard Agency all conclude that MSG is generally safe and does not present any risk to health when consumed in moderate amounts. Although some people report symptoms like headaches, flushing, heart palpitations and sweating after consuming MSG, well-controlled studies have failed to establish a clear link between these symptoms and MSG. One explanation could be that some people have a sensitivity or intolerance to MSG.

Clare Thronton-Wood, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association explains ‘The European Food Safety Authority assessed the safety of glutamic acid and its salts (E620-625) used as food additives and set an acceptable daily limit (ADI) of 30mg/kg body weight per day. This level of intake is based on the highest dose at which scientists observed no adverse effects on animals in toxicity studies and would translate to 2100mg per day for a 70kg man.'

Rather than being a concern, MSG may well offer some health benefits. If you’re trying to reduce your sodium intake without compromising flavour, MSG could be the solution. Interestingly, MSG contains three times less sodium than the same amount of table salt. This is important as the link between salt and high blood pressure is well established. For this reason, the Department of Health recommend that adults in the UK should aim to eat no more that 6g salt/day.

Despite this advice, the average daily intake in the UK is 9.2g for men and 7.6g day for women, so there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to reach this target.

Common food sources

MSG is used as a flavour enhancer in ready prepared foods including:

Processed meat
Canned soups
Stock cubes
Frozen ready meals
Instant noodles
Savoury snacks
Seasoning

If you're concerned about MSG in your diet, opt for whole, unprocessed foods when possible and check the ingredients list on processed food labels. If you don’t see monosodium glutamate mentioned on the ingredients list it doesn’t mean it’s not present, in the UK and Europe all approved additives are given a E number which is often used on foods labels, the E number for MSG is E621.

Avoiding MSG when you’re eating out isn’t so simple. MSG isn’t one of the 14 major allergens that restaurants are required to declare so you need to ask the restaurant if they used MSG. Be extra cautious with Chinese and Asian food, especially dishes that contain sauces or broths and dishes in buffet-style restaurants may contain MSG as it's often used to keep food flavourful after long periods on display.

Using MSG at home

Although MSG is odourless and tasteless by itself, when MSG is eaten the sodium and glutamate break apart in the saliva and the glutamate activates umami taste receptors on the tongue. It can be used as an ingredient in marinades or rubs before grilling or roasting, added to soups, stews and sauces or sprinkled over scrambled eggs. Moderation is key if you are using MSG at home because too much can be overpowering, so in a chicken stew that serves four, you only need around 1/4 tsp.

So, is MSG bad for you?

While MSG has been a subject of controversy, current scientific evidence doesn't support many of the health concerns associated with it but if you want to avoid it Clare says ‘opt for whole, unprocessed foods whenever possible and check the ingredients list on the labels of processed foods.'

Remember, if you have a gluten intolerance and you’re worried that MSG contains gluten, there’s no need as the two things are not related.

Check out these recipes which give you the umami taste without MSG

Umami roast potatoes
Umami gravy
Miso salmon
Spaghetti puttanesca

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Fiona Hunter, Bsc (Hons) Nutrition, PG Dip Dietetics, is a highly experienced nutritionist, having worked in the NHS and now as an independent nutrition consultant.

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