What Is MSG?
MSG (monosodium glutamate) is a flavor enhancer that adds umami taste—the savory, meaty flavor found in parmesan, tomatoes, and soy sauce. It's the sodium salt of glutamic acid, an amino acid naturally present in many foods. Decades of research have found MSG safe for general consumption. The "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" scare was based on flawed evidence and has been debunked.
Key Takeaways
- Glutamate is one of the most common amino acids in nature.
- Some people may be sensitive to large amounts, but this is rare and not specific to MSG.
- "No added MSG" labels are often misleading—the food may contain natural glutamates.
Explanation
Glutamate is one of the most common amino acids in nature. Your body produces it, and it's abundant in foods like parmesan cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, and fish sauce. MSG is simply a purified form that adds the same umami taste more conveniently. It was first isolated from seaweed in Japan in 1908.
The MSG scare began with a 1968 letter to a medical journal claiming symptoms after eating Chinese food. Despite no scientific evidence, the claim went viral. Subsequent rigorous studies—including double-blind trials—consistently found no difference between MSG and placebo in causing symptoms.
MSG contains about one-third the sodium of table salt by weight, so it can actually help reduce sodium intake while maintaining flavor. Many snack foods, soups, and processed foods contain MSG or similar glutamate compounds (often listed as "natural flavors" or hydrolyzed proteins).
The concentration of natural glutamate in common foods puts the MSG scare in perspective. Parmesan cheese contains 1,200mg of free glutamate per 100 grams. Soy sauce has 900mg per 100ml. Ripe tomatoes contain 250mg per 100 grams. A typical serving of MSG-seasoned food might add 500mg of glutamate, which is well within the range of what people consume from natural sources daily. The body processes glutamate from MSG identically to glutamate from tomatoes or cheese - the molecules are chemically indistinguishable.
Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda identified glutamate as the source of savory flavor in kombu seaweed broth in 1908 and patented a method to produce MSG commercially. He coined the term 'umami' (from the Japanese word for 'delicious taste') to describe this fifth basic taste alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. It took nearly a century for Western science to officially recognize umami as a distinct taste, with the discovery of glutamate receptors on the tongue confirmed in 2002.
Things to Know
- Some people may be sensitive to large amounts, but this is rare and not specific to MSG.
- "No added MSG" labels are often misleading—the food may contain natural glutamates.
- MSG is found under many names: E621, "hydrolyzed protein," "yeast extract."
- The anti-MSG movement has been linked to xenophobic attitudes toward Asian cuisine.