:Monosodium glutamate

Pure MSG is reported not to have a highly pleasant taste until it is combined with a savory aroma.{{cite journal |last=Rolls |first=Edmund T. |author-link=Edmund Rolls |title=Functional neuroimaging of umami taste: what makes umami pleasant? |journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=804S–13S |date=September 2009 |pmid=19571217 |doi=10.3945/ajcn.2009.27462R |doi-access=free }} 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, the "pleasure score" rapidly falls with the addition of more than one gram of MSG per 100{{Nbsp}}mL.{{cite book|title=Umami: a basic taste|veditors=Kawamura Y, Kare MR |publisher=Marcel Dekker Inc.| location=New York, NY|year=1987}}

The sodium content (in mass percent) of MSG, 12.28%, is about one-third of that in sodium chloride (39.34%), due to the greater mass of the glutamate counterion.{{cite journal |author =Yamaguchi, Shizuko |author2=Takahashi, Chikahito |title=Interactions of monosodium glutamate and sodium chloride on saltiness and palatability of a clear soup |journal=Journal of Food Science|volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=82–85|date=January 1984|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2621.1984.tb13675.x }} Although other salts of glutamate have been used in low-salt soups, they are less palatable than MSG.{{cite journal |vauthors=Ball P, Woodward D, Beard T, Shoobridge A, Ferrier M |title=Calcium diglutamate improves taste characteristics of lower-salt soup|journal= Eur J Clin Nutr|volume=56 |issue=6 |pages=519–23|date=June 2002 |pmid=12032651|doi=10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601343 |doi-access=free }} Food scientist 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/cooking-with-msg-supersalt-2017-2|title=Everyone should cook with MSG, says food scientist|last=Lubin|first=Gus|website=Business Insider|date=2 February 2017|access-date=27 January 2019}}

The ribonucleotide food additives disodium inosinate (E631) and disodium guanylate (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 ribonucleotides (a mixture of disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate).{{Cite web | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/cooking-with-msg-supersalt-2017-2?r=US&IR=T | title=Everyone should cook with MSG, says food scientist| website=Business Insider}}

MSG is generally recognized as safe to eat.{{cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-msg-got-a-bad-rap-flawed-science-and-xenophobia/|title=How MSG Got A Bad Rap: Flawed Science And Xenophobia|first=Anna Maria|last=Barry-Jester|date=8 January 2016}} 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.{{cite journal |vauthors=Walker R, Lupien JR |title=The safety evaluation of monosodium glutamate|journal=Journal of Nutrition|volume=130 |issue=4S Suppl |pages=1049S–52S|date=April 2000 |pmid=10736380 |doi=10.1093/jn/130.4.1049S|doi-access=free}} 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 table salt (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.{{cite journal |last1=Fernstrom |first1=John D. |title=Monosodium Glutamate in the Diet Does Not Raise Brain Glutamate Concentrations or Disrupt Brain Functions |journal=Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism |date=2018 |volume=73 |issue=Suppl. 5 |pages=43–52 |doi=10.1159/000494782|pmid=30508818 |doi-access=free}}

A 1995 report from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) for the United States Food and Drug Administration (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.{{cite journal|vauthors=Raiten DJ, Talbot JM, Fisher KD |title=Executive Summary from the Report: Analysis of Adverse Reactions to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) |journal=Journal of Nutrition |volume=125 |issue=6 |pages=2891S–2906S |year=1996 |pmid=7472671 |doi=10.1093/jn/125.11.2891S |s2cid=3945714 }}

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.{{cite journal |author=Geha RS |title=Review of alleged reaction to monosodium glutamate and outcome of a multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled study |journal=J. Nutr. |volume=130 |issue=4S Suppl |pages=1058S–62S |date=April 2000 |pmid=10736382 |doi=10.1093/jn/130.4.1058S |url=http://jn.nutrition.org/content/130/4/1058.long |name-list-style=vanc |author2=Beiser A |author2-link=Alexa Beiser |author3=Ren C |display-authors=3 |last4=Patterson |first4=R |last5=Greenberger |first5=PA |last6=Grammer |first6=LC |last7=Ditto |first7=AM |last8=Harris |first8=KE |last9=Shaughnessy |first9=MA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114164740/http://jn.nutrition.org/content/130/4/1058.long |archive-date=14 January 2012 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|author1=Tarasoff L. |author2=Kelly M.F. |title=Monosodium L-glutamate: a double-blind study and review |journal=Food Chem. Toxicol. |volume=31 |issue=12 |pages=1019–35 |year=1993 |pmid=8282275 |doi=10.1016/0278-6915(93)90012-N}}{{cite journal |author=Walker R |title=The significance of excursions above the ADI. Case study: monosodium glutamate |journal=Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. |volume=30 |issue=2 Pt 2 |pages=S119–21 |date=October 1999 |pmid=10597625 |doi=10.1006/rtph.1999.1337}}

Adequately controlling for experimental bias includes a blinded, placebo-controlled experimental design 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 study in 2000 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.{{cite journal|author1=Williams, A. N. |author2=Woessner, K.M. |title=Monosodium glutamate 'allergy': menace or myth? |journal=Clinical & Experimental Allergy |volume=39 |pages=640–46 |year=2009 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2222.2009.03221.x|pmid=19389112 |issue=5 |s2cid=20044934}}

Studies exploring MSG's role in obesity have yielded mixed results.{{cite journal|pmid=20370941|year=2010|last1=Shi|first1=Z|last2=Luscombe-Marsh|first2=ND|last3=Wittert|first3=GA|last4=Yuan|first4=B|last5=Dai|first5=Y|last6=Pan|first6=X|last7=Taylor|first7=AW|title=Monosodium glutamate is not associated with obesity or a greater prevalence of weight gain over 5 years: Findings from the Jiangsu Nutrition Study of Chinese adults|volume=104|issue=3|pages=457–63|doi=10.1017/S0007114510000760|journal=The British Journal of Nutrition|doi-access=free}}{{cite news |author=Bakalar, Nicholas |title=Nutrition: MSG Use is Linked to Obesity |newspaper=The New York Times |quote=Consumption of monosodium glutamate, or MSG, the widely used food additive, may increase the likelihood of being overweight, a new study says. |date=25 August 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/health/nutrition/26nutr.html |access-date=10 November 2010}}

Although several studies have investigated anecdotal links between MSG and asthma, current evidence does not support a causal association.

{{cite journal |author=Stevenson, D. D. |title=Monosodium glutamate and asthma |journal=J. Nutr. |volume=130 |pages=1067S–73S |year=2000 |pmid=10736384 |issue=4S Suppl |doi=10.1093/jn/130.4.1067S |doi-access=free}}

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 in asthmatic individuals, the evidence does not indicate that MSG is a significant trigger factor."{{cite book|title=Monosodium Glutamate, A Safety Assessment, Technical Report Series No. 20 |url=http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/publications/Documents/MSG%20Technical%20Report.doc |website=FoodStandards.gov.au |publisher=Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Health Minister Chair, Peter Dutton MP |date=June 2003 |access-date=17 January 2015 |isbn=978-0642345202 |issn=1448-3017}}{{cite web|title=Monosodium glutamate search |url=http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/Search/pages/results.aspx?k=Monosodium+glutamate|website=FoodStandards.gov.au |publisher=Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Health Minister Chair, Peter Dutton MP |access-date=13 August 2014}}

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 590mg/day, with extreme users (97.5th percentile consumers) consuming 2,330mg/day" (Rhodes et al. 1991).{{cite journal | last1 = Rhodes | first1 = Joan | last2 = Titherley | first2 = Alison C. | last3 = Norman | first3 = Julie A. | last4 = Wood | first4 = Roger | last5 = Lord | first5 = David W. | date = 1991 | title = A survey of the monosodium glutamate content of foods and an estimation of the dietary intake of monosodium glutamate | url = https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02652039109374021 | journal = Food Additives & Contaminants | volume = 8 | issue = 5 | pages = 663–672 | doi = 10.1080/02652039109374021 | pmc = | pmid = 1818840 | access-date = 25 May 2023 | name-list-style = vanc }} In a highly seasoned restaurant meal, intakes as high as 5,000 mg or more may be possible (Yang et al. 1997).{{cite journal | last1 = Yang | first1 = William H. | last2 = Drouin | first2 = Michel A. | last3 = Herbert | first3 = Margaret | last4 = Mao | first4 = Yang | last5 = Karsh | first5 = Jacob | date = 1997 | title = The MSG symptom complex: assessment in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study | url = https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(97)80008-5/pdf | journal = The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology | volume = 99 | issue = 6 Pt 1| pages = 757–762 | doi = 10.1016/s0091-6749(97)80008-5 | pmc = | pmid = 9215242 | access-date = 25 May 2023 | name-list-style = vanc }} 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 carbohydrates significantly attenuate peak plasma glutamate levels at doses up to 150mg/kg body weight. Two earlier studies{{snd}}the 1987 Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the 1995 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB){{snd}}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".

MSG has been produced by three methods: hydrolysis of vegetable proteins with hydrochloric acid to disrupt peptide bonds (1909–1962); direct chemical synthesis with acrylonitrile (1962–1973), and bacterial fermentation (the current method). Wheat gluten was originally used for hydrolysis because it contains more than 30 g of glutamate and glutamine per 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 was adopted as a base material to synthesize MSG.{{cite journal |vauthors=Yoshida T |title=Industrial manufacture of optically active glutamic acid through total synthesis|journal=Chemie Ingenieur Technik|volume=42 |pages=641–44 |year=1970 |doi=10.1002/cite.330420912 |issue=9–10}}

As of 2016, most MSG worldwide is produced by bacterial fermentation in a process similar to making vinegar or yogurt. Sodium is added later, for neutralization. During fermentation, Corynebacterium species, cultured with ammonia and carbohydrates from sugar beets, sugarcane, tapioca or molasses, excrete amino acids into a culture broth from which L-glutamate is isolated. Kyowa Hakko Kogyo (currently Kyowa Kirin) developed industrial fermentation to produce L-glutamate.{{cite journal |author=Kinoshita, Shukuo |author2=Udaka, Shigezo |author3=Shimamoto, Masakazu |title =Studies on amino acid fermentation. Part I. Production of L-glutamic acid by various microorganisms |journal=J Gen Appl Microbiol |volume=3 |pages=193–205|year=1957 |doi=10.2323/jgam.3.193 |issue=3|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jgam1955/3/3/3_3_193/_pdf |doi-access=free }}

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 ions, and water.

The compound is usually available as the monohydrate, a white, odorless, crystalline powder. The solid contains separate sodium cations {{chem|Na|+}} and glutamate anions in zwitterionic form, ⁻OOC-CH({{chem|N|H|3|+}})-({{chem|C|H|2}})₂-COO⁻.{{cite journal | year = 1989 | title = Crystal and Molecular Structures of Monosodium L-Glutamate Monohydrate | journal = Analytical Sciences | volume = 5 | issue = 1| pages = 121–22 | doi = 10.2116/analsci.5.121 | doi-access = free |author=Sano, Chiaki |author2=Nagashima, Nobuya |author3=Kawakita, Tetsuya |author4=Iitaka Yoichi}} In solution it dissociates into glutamate and sodium ions.

MSG is freely soluble in water, but it is not hygroscopic and is insoluble in common organic solvents (such as ether).{{cite book|title=Principles of Biochemistry |editor=Win. C.|publisher=Brown Pub Co.| location=Boston, MA|year=1995}} 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 (browning) in the presence of sugars at very high temperatures.

Glutamic acid was discovered and identified in 1866 by the German chemist Karl Heinrich Ritthausen, who treated wheat gluten (for which it was named) with sulfuric acid.{{cite book |author= Plimmer, R.H.A. |editor1=R.H.A. Plimmer |editor2=F.G. Hopkins |title= The Chemical Constitution of the Protein |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7JM8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA114 |access-date= 3 June 2012 |edition= 2nd |series= Monographs on biochemistry |volume= Part I. Analysis |orig-date= 1908 |year= 1912 |publisher= Longmans, Green and Co. |location= London|page= 114}} Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University isolated glutamic acid as a taste substance in 1908 from the seaweed Laminaria japonica (kombu) by aqueous extraction and crystallization, calling its taste umami ("delicious taste").{{cite journal|author=Lindemann, Bernd |author2=Ogiwara Yoko |author3=Ninomiya, Yuzo |title=The discovery of umami|journal=Chem Senses |volume=27 |issue=9 |pages=843–44 |date=November 2002 |pmid=12438211 |doi=10.1093/chemse/27.9.843|doi-access=free }}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/jul/10/foodanddrink.features3|title=If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in Asia have a headache?|first=Alex|last=Renton|date=10 July 2005|website=The Guardian}} Ikeda noticed that dashi, the Japanese broth of katsuobushi and kombu, 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.{{Cite web|title=Kikunae Ikeda|url=https://www.umamiinfo.com/|access-date=8 February 2022|website=Umami Information Center|language=en}} Ikeda called his product "monosodium glutamate" and submitted a patent 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 ("essence of taste").{{cite journal |author=Sano, Chiaki|title=History of glutamate production|journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition|volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=728S–32S|date=September 2009 |pmid=19640955 |doi=10.3945/ajcn.2009.27462F |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |author=Yamaguchi, Shizuko |author2=Ninomiya, Kumiko |title=What is umami?|journal=Food Reviews International |volume=14|issue=2 & 3 |pages=123–38 |year=1998 |doi=10.1080/87559129809541155}}{{cite journal |author=Kurihara K|title=Glutamate: from discovery as a food flavor to role as a basic taste (umami)?|journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition|volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=719S–22S|date=September 2009 |pmid=19640953 |doi=10.3945/ajcn.2009.27462D |doi-access=free }}

{{see also|Glutamate flavoring#Regulations}}

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, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy 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/s" is used by the food industry for glutamic acid (chemically similar to MSG, lacking only the sodium ion). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require disclosure of components and amounts of "natural flavor/s."{{cite web |title=CFR – Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Vol 6, Part 501, Subpart B – Specific Animal Food Labeling Requirements |url=http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=501.22 |website=FDA.gov |publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration |access-date=13 August 2014}}

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 (INS) number, 621.{{cite web|url=http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/foodstandardscode/standard124labelling4231.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821130741/http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/foodstandardscode/standard124labelling4231.cfm|archive-date=21 August 2010 |title=Standard 1.2.4 Labelling of Ingredients |work=Food Standards Code |publisher=Food Standards Australia New Zealand |access-date=15 May 2010}}

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.{{cite web|title=Punjab Food Authority bans Chinese salt after scientific panel finds it hazardous for health|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1383111/punjab-food-authority-bans-chinese-salt-after-scientific-panel-finds-it-hazardous-for-health|website=Dawn|access-date=15 January 2018|date=15 January 2018}}

The prohibition against the import and manufacture of MSG was enforced on 28 February 2018, following an order by the Supreme Court on 10 February 2018.{{cite web |last1=Aiman |first1=Saadia |title=Pakistan lifts ban on MSG import and production |url=https://minutemirror.com.pk/pakistan-lifts-ban-on-msg-import-and-production-321192/ |website=Minute Mirror |date=14 December 2024}}

In 2024, the federal government lifted the ban on MSG, following objections from Japan and a review of scientific evidence by an expert committee. The committee comprising experts from various institutions—including the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, National Agricultural Research Centre, and Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority—confirmed MSG as a safe food additive.{{cite web |title=Govt lifts ban on Ajinomoto salt import from Japan |url=https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2024/12/13/govt-lifts-ban-on-ajinomoto-salt-import-from-japan/ |website=Profit by Pakistan Today |date=13 December 2024}}

The following are alternative names for MSG:{{cite web |last1=Singh, K. K. |last2=Desai, Pinakin |title=Glutamate Chemical |url=http://www.triveniinterchem.com/glutamate.html |website=TriveniInterChem.com |publisher=Riveni InterChem of Triveni Chemicals, manufacturer & supplier of industrial chemicals, India |access-date=11 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702070829/http://www.triveniinterchem.com/glutamate.html |archive-date=2 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=Desmo Exports Limited, Chemical Manufacturers and Importers of India |title=Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) |url=http://desmoexports.com/products/msg.htm |website=DesmoExports.com |publisher=Desmo Exports |date=2011 |access-date=11 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611013903/http://desmoexports.com/products/msg.htm |archive-date=11 June 2016 |url-status=dead }}

• 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 Inc., Parsippany, New Jersey, US{{cite web|title=Accent Flavor Enhancer|url=http://www.accentflavor.com/products/accent-flavor-enhancer/|website=AccentFlavor.com|publisher=B&G Foods, Inc.|access-date=11 August 2014|archive-date=17 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617221214/http://www.accentflavor.com/products/accent-flavor-enhancer/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=B&G Foods, Incorporated|url=http://www.grocery.com/bg-foods-incorporated/|website=Grocery.com|access-date=13 August 2014|date=14 July 2011}}
• Aji-No-Moto, produced by Ajinomoto, 26 countries, head office Japan{{cite web|title=Monosodium glutamate(MSG)|url=http://www.ajinomoto.com/features/aji-no-moto/en/truth/ |website=Umami Global Website |publisher=Ajinomoto Co., Inc. |access-date=30 October 2016}}{{cite web|title=To Greet the Next 100 Years (Corporate Guide) |url=http://www.ajinomoto.com/en/aboutus/pdf/ajinomoto_profile.pdf?scid=av_ot_pc_comeheadbp_aboutus_ajinomoto_profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707041311/http://www.ajinomoto.com/en/aboutus/pdf/ajinomoto_profile.pdf?scid=av_ot_pc_comeheadbp_aboutus_ajinomoto_profile |archive-date=7 July 2014 |publisher=AAjinomoto Co., Inc. |access-date=13 August 2014}}
• Tasting Powder
• Ve-Tsin by Tien Chu Ve-Tsin
• Sazón, distributed by Goya Foods, Jersey City, NJ{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402175148/http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/sazon-seasoning Sazon Seasoning : Substitutes, Ingredients, Equivalents]}}. GourmetSleuth. Retrieved on 4 November 2016.

The controversy surrounding the safety of MSG started with the publication of Robert Ho Man Kwok's correspondence letter titled "Chinese-Restaurant Syndrome" in the New England Journal of Medicine on 4 April 1968.{{cite journal |last1=LeMesurier |first1=Jennifer L. |title=Uptaking Race: Genre, MSG, and Chinese Dinner |journal=Poroi |date=8 February 2017 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=1–23 |doi=10.13008/2151-2957.1253|doi-access=free }}{{cite web |last= Blanding |first=Michael |title=The Strange Case of Dr. Ho Man Kwok |website=Colgate Magazine |date=17 January 2020 |url=https://news.colgate.edu/magazine/2019/02/06/the-strange-case-of-dr-ho-man-kwok/ |access-date=6 January 2020}} In his letter, Kwok suggested several possible causes before he nominated MSG for his symptoms.{{cite journal |last1=Kwok |first1=Robert Ho Man |title=Chinese-Restaurant Syndrome |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |date=4 April 1968 |volume=278 |issue=14 |page=796 |doi=10.1056/NEJM196804042781419|pmid=25276867 }}{{cite journal| author = Freeman, Matthew | title = Reconsidering the effects of monosodium glutamate: A literature review| journal = Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners| volume = 18| pages = 482–486| year = 2006| doi = 10.1111/j.1745-7599.2006.00160.x| pmid=16999713| issue = 10| s2cid = 21084909}} This letter was initially met with insider satirical responses, often using race as prop for humorous effect, within the medical community. As the media picked up the conversations, they were treated as legitimate, but the racial motivations behind the humor were ignored—reinforcing old racial stereotypes.

Despite the resulting public backlash, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not remove MSG from their Generally Recognized as Safe list. In 1970, a National Research Council under the National Academy of Sciences, on behalf of the FDA, investigated MSG but concluded that MSG was safe for consumption.

The controversy about MSG is tied to racial stereotypes against East Asian societies.{{cite journal |url=https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(21)00068-X/fulltext#relatedArticles |title=MSG Is A-OK: Exploring the Xenophobic History of and Best Practices for Consuming Monosodium Glutamate |first1=Amanda |last1=Wahlstedt |first2=Elizabeth |last2=Bradley |first3=Juan |last3=Castillo |first4=Kate |last4=Gardner Burt |journal=Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics |date=2021 |volume=122 |issue=1 |pages=25–29 |doi=10.1016/j.jand.2021.01.020|pmid=33678597 |s2cid=232143333 }}{{cite web |last1=Liang |first1=Michelle |title=From MSG to COVID-19: The Politics of America's Fear of Chinese Food |url=https://arts.duke.edu/news/michelle-liang-23-from-msg-to-covid-19-the-politics-of-americas-fear-of-chinese-food/ |website=arts.duke.edu |access-date=9 August 2021 |date=18 May 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Jiang |first1=Irene |date=15 January 2020| title=McDonald's is testing chicken sandwiches with MSG, and people are freaking out. Here's why they shouldn't care one bit. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/msg-in-food-dangerous-bad-myth-2020-1 |website=Business Insider}}{{cite web |last1=Nierenberg |first1=Amelia |title=The Campaign to Redefine 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/dining/msg-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-merriam-webster-dictionary.html |website=The New York Times |date=16 January 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=River |title=The FDA Says It's Safe, So Feel Free to Say 'Yes' to MSG |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/rescuing-msgs-unsavory-reputation-11556337610 |website=The Wall Street Journal |date=27 April 2019}} Herein, specifically East Asian cuisine was targeted, whereas the widespread usage of MSG in Western processed food does not generate the same stigma.{{cite web |title=Why Do People Freak Out About MSG in Chinese Food?|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm8Yx-gWlMs | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/Sm8Yx-gWlMs| archive-date=30 October 2021|website=AJ+ (on YouTube) |publisher=Al Jazeera Media Network |date=14 August 2018 |time=0:00–1:00m and 5:20–8:30m}}{{cbignore}} These kind of perceptions, such as the rhetoric of the so-called Chinese restaurant syndrome, have been attributed to xenophobic or racist biases.{{cite journal |last1=LeMesurier |first1=Jennifer L. |title=Uptaking Race: Genre, MSG, and Chinese Dinner |journal=Poroi |date=8 February 2017 |volume=12 |issue=2 |doi=10.13008/2151-2957.1253 | quote=Introduction: ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’ as Rhetorical [...] Finally, I trace how the journalistic uptakes of this discussion, in only taking up certain medical phrases and terms, reproduce the tacit racism of this boundary policing while avowing the neutrality of medical authority.|doi-access=free }}{{cite web |last1=DeJesus |first1=Erin |title=Recapping Anthony Bourdain 'Parts Unknown' in Sichuan |url=https://www.eater.com/2016/10/16/13278532/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-sichuan-china-recap |website=Eater |publisher=Vox Media |date=16 October 2016}} See also {{cite web |title=Bourdain, off the cuff: Sichuan |url=https://explorepartsunknown.com/sichuan/bourdain-off-the-cuff-sichuan/ |website=Explore Parts Unknown |publisher=CNN |accessdate= 14 December 2018|quote=[On MSG]: You know what causes Chinese-restaurant syndrome? Racism. ‘Ooh, I have a headache, must have been the Chinese guy.’}}{{cite web |last1=Barry-Jester |first1=Anna Maria |title=How MSG Got A Bad Rap: Flawed Science And Xenophobia |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-msg-got-a-bad-rap-flawed-science-and-xenophobia/ |website=FiveThirtyEight |date=8 January 2016|quote=That MSG causes health problems may have thrived on racially charged biases from the outset. Ian Mosby, a food historian, wrote in a 2009 paper titled “‘That Won-Ton Soup Headache’: The Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, MSG and the Making of American Food, 1968-1980” that fear of MSG in Chinese food is part of the U.S.’s long history of viewing the “exotic” cuisine of Asia as dangerous or dirty.}}{{cite web |title=Why Do People Freak Out About MSG in Chinese Food?|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm8Yx-gWlMs |website=AJ+ |via= YouTube |publisher=Al Jazeera Media Network |date=14 August 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Blythman |first1=Joanna |title=Chinese restaurant syndrome: has MSG been unfairly demonised? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/21/chinese-restaurant-syndrome-has-msg-been-unfairly-demonised |website=The Guardian |date=21 May 2018|quote=Although Chang doesn’t use MSG in his kitchens, he has defended its use, telling a high-level meeting of top chefs that Chinese restaurant syndrome is nothing more than a “cultural construct”. That is a polite way of saying that avoidance of MSG is an expression of Western ignorance, or worse, racism, drawing on stereotypes of East Asian countries as dangerous or dirty.}}{{cite web |last1=Geiling |first1=Natasha |title=It's the Umami, Stupid. Why the Truth About MSG is So Easy to Swallow |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/its-the-umami-stupid-why-the-truth-about-msg-is-so-easy-to-swallow-180947626/ |website=Smithsonian |date=8 November 2013|quote=Everyone knows this connection, and probably associates MSG use in America most heavily with Chinese restaurants{{snd}}thanks in large part to the absurdly racist name for MSG sensitivity “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.”}}

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.Anna Barry-Jester, [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-msg-got-a-bad-rap-flawed-science-and-xenophobia/ "How MSG Got A Bad Rap: Flawed Science And Xenophobia,"] FiveThirtyEight, 8 January 2016 In 2016, Anthony Bourdain stated in Parts Unknown that "I think MSG is good stuff ... You know what causes Chinese restaurant syndrome? Racism."{{cite news |last1=Yeung |first1=Jessie |title=MSG in Chinese food isn't unhealthy – you're just racist, activists say |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/18/asia/chinese-restaurant-syndrome-msg-intl-hnk-scli/index.html |access-date=21 May 2021 |agency=CNN |date=19 January 2020}}

In 2020, Ajinomoto, the leading manufacturer of MSG, and others launched the #RedefineCRS campaign, in reference to the term "Chinese restaurant syndrome", to combat the misconceptions about MSG, saying they intended to highlight the xenophobic prejudice against East Asian cuisine and the scientific evidence.{{cite web |last1=Yeung |first1=Jessie |title=MSG in Chinese food isn't unhealthy -- you're just racist, activists say |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/18/asia/chinese-restaurant-syndrome-msg-intl-hnk-scli/index.html |website=CNN |date=19 January 2020}} Following the campaign, Merriam-Webster announced it would review the term.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-activists-fight-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-myth-20200120-znyi3draxvcrxpnee4o5fvgbcy-story.html |title=Activists launch campaign to fight 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' myth |last=Theisen |first=Lauren |website=nydailynews.com |access-date=2020-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120103342/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-activists-fight-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-myth-20200120-znyi3draxvcrxpnee4o5fvgbcy-story.html |date=January 19, 2020 |archive-date=2020-01-20 |url-status=live }}

{{Columns-list|colwidth=16em|

• Acceptable daily intake
• Adenosine monophosphate
• Garum
• Guanosine monophosphate
• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase
• Inosinic acid
• Iodized salt
• Kombu
• Monopotassium glutamate
• Murri (condiment)
• Ribonucleoside
• Russell Blaylock
• Table salt
• Yeast extract

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Monosodium glutamate}}

{{wiktionary|monosodium glutamate symptom complex|Chinese food syndrome|Chinese restaurant syndrome|CRS}}

• [http://www.eufic.org/en/food-today/article/the-facts-on-monosodium-glutamate The Facts on Monosodium Glutamate (EUFIC)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322182410/http://www.eufic.org/en/food-today/article/the-facts-on-monosodium-glutamate |date=22 March 2017 }}
• {{Skeptoid|id=4706|number=706|title=MSG: How a Friendly Flavor Became Your Enemy|date=17 December 2019}}

{{Salt topics}}

{{Sodium compounds}}

{{Consumer Food Safety}}

{{Japanese food and drink}}

{{Anti-Chinese sentiment}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monosodium Glutamate}}

Category:E-number additives

Category:Edible salt

Category:Flavor enhancers

Category:Food additives

Category:Glutamates

Category:Japanese inventions

Category:Metal-amino acid complexes

Category:Organic sodium salts

Category:Umami enhancers