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Msg(E621)

Level 4 — Significant concernsIn Winter's Dictionary3 sources

Msg is a flavor enhancer — Flavor enhancer used to intensify meat and spice flavorings

Also: Monosodium Glutamate

What it does

Flavor enhancer used to intensify meat and spice flavorings

Where you'll see it

meats, condiments, pickles, soups, candy, baked goods, processed snacks

What the research says

Responsible for 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' (chest pain, headache, numbness). Causes brain damage in young rodents and reproductive dysfunction in animal studies. 2008 University of North Carolina study linked MSG use to overweight/obesity independent of activity and total calorie intake. FASEB 1995 report identified 'MSG symptom complex' affecting two groups. Disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate are useful only in synergy with MSG-containing ingredients and indicate hidden MSG. [ultra-processed-people] Umami flavour enhancer that, in UPF context, signals to the gut that protein is incoming when 'all that will arrive is a sad little ball of potato starch' (Andrea Sella on Pringles). Van Tulleken lists glutamate (with guanylate, inosinate, ribonucleotides) among flavour enhancers that 'drive excess consumption ... they tell your body a lie about the nutritional content of the food.' [salt-sugar-fat] Boosts umami in nearly all savory packaged foods. The same glutamate compound is reintroduced under cleaner-label names like 'autolyzed yeast extract,' 'hydrolyzed vegetable protein,' or 'natural flavor' so the package can carry 'No MSG' while still hitting the receptors.

Regulatory status

  • US FDA: GRAS
  • EU: approved
  • Notes: Removed from baby food. Hidden in many additives: hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, soy extracts, natural flavorings

Sources

  • Salt Sugar Fat (Moss) — Chapter 7 (Fat — That Gooey, Sticky Mouthfeel): A meaty, savory taste derived from an amino acid called glutamate
  • Ultra-Processed People (van Tulleken) — Afterword: quick-fire list: Flavour enhancers (glutamate, guanylate, inosinate and ribonucleotides on ingredient lists) drive excess consumption
  • A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): people who use MSG as a flavor enhancer in food are more likely than people who don't use it to be overweight or obese, even though they have the same amount of physical activity and total calorie intake