MSG: Good Or Evil?

 

When people think of MSG, they fall into one of two groups: 

They either believe it to be "the ingredient that makes all food taste good", or "the ingredient that's gonna kill you." 

Opinions of this seasoning are very mixed. It's often considered one of the most controversial ingredients in the cooking and food world. But why? Where is this reaction coming from? To start off, we need to ask the question: what is MSG?

According to Ajinomoto.com, MSG, also known as Monosodium glutamate, is a type of salt found in ingredients like tomatoes and cheese. It was made in 1906 when biochemist Dr. Kikunae Ikeda sought to extract the savory flavor of dried seaweed his wife used in a broth. Ikeda managed to extract a crystal compound from the seaweed, which turned out to be glutamic acid. 

Upon tasting the crystal, he'd dub the ingredient "Umami", a play on the Japanese word "Umai", meaning delicious. Soon after, he filed a patent for the mass production of Umami,  eventually leading to the creation of MSG, becoming a staple in Asian cuisine worldwide.

Chances are most people have eaten a dish or two that uses MSG as an enhancer, but what does MSG taste like by itself? According to tastecooking.com, MSG tastes like a more mild salt. It has no specific taste but rather has a flavor beyond salty, sweet, bitter, or sour. Rather, it's described as "the fifth taste". It's also been described as enhancing or adding a meat-like flavor to dishes.  

Now to address the elephant in the room: Is MSG harmful? 

The answer is..not really. According to mayoclinic.org, MSG is considered relatively safe by the FDA. despite numerous reports from consumers claiming that MSG has caused conditions such as numbness, headache, and chest pain, the FDA has found no link between these conditions and the ingredients. Although, some researchers described that some individuals may have bodily reactions to the additive, but would not develop any conditions that would warrant a doctor's visit.

So, MSG is safe. Great!..but, why did this stigma even start? The answer: Panic and Xenophobia.

A blog post from fivethirtyeight.com, details how after the mass production of MSG, the ingredient would become widespread across the United States, United Kingdom, and Asian restaurants across the countries. It was often described as the "mysterious ‘white powder’ of the Orient", creating the connection between the ingredient and Asian culture.

However, the ingredient's chemical nature would raise concerns amongst consumers, worrying that it may cause negative effects. Doctors and consumers would begin sending letters to reporters detailing sickly or painful conditions from consuming the additive. Concerns rose to such a degree that in the 1960s-1980s, the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" phenomenon was born.

Articles and books with titles like, "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills” helped to spread the growing negative sentiment with the ingredient. The association with Chinese cuisine and the ingredients also led to the belief that the 'exotic' ingredient was dangerous or unclean. Chinese Restaurant Syndrome was also accepted as a valid condition in several medical institutions, despite the FDA classifying the ingredient as safe since it was first imported. 

The panic that surrounded the ingredient permanently damaged the ingredient's reputation. The effects of that period in the late 20th century are still felt to this day, In a graph provided by the Washington Post , 42% of Americans avoid MSG, believing the ingredient to still be dangerous...but nowadays, that can be said for most of the food we see on our store shelves. Cereals, snacks, and candies are chalked full of chemicals and unrecognizable ingredients. The everyday foods that we eat, are far more dangerous than MSG could ever be. 

Besides, even with a few bad ingredients, has that really stopped consumers from buying them?

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