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Forwarded Message:
Subj: MSG in "Broth" injections to fresh poultry? 
Date: 10/18/2004 8:50:36 PMl Central Standard Time
From:
To: adandjack@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Most of the grocery stores in our area carry only brands of poultry with the claim "enhanced with xx% injected solution" on the labels.  After an MSG reaction to the chicken carried by Aldi, I contacted Pilgrim's Pride, which handles the store-brand poultry products for several large chains (including Meijer and Wal-Mart).  Here is the response I received:

Subject:
RE: QUESTION RE: INGREDIENTS IN BROTH
From:
EB
Date:
Mon, 11 Oct 2004 09:32:48 -0500
To:
LL		 

The broth contains, water, salt, sodium phosphate and flavorings.  There is no MSG in the Broth or the Flavoring s in the Broth.

Thanks,
EB
Pilgrims Pride
Customer Care


-----Original Message-----
From: LL
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2004 10:29 AM
To: EB
Subject: QUESTION RE: INGREDIENTS IN BROTH

Good morning.

QA received a call from PCA from the following guest:

L.....

L..... is requesting a list of ingredients for the broth, because she is 
researching for MSG.

Can you please research and reply to her?

Just cc me and I will close out and file.

Thank you and have a nice day 

LL
QA Support/Foods/Hardlines/Apparel
After receiving this reassuring reply, I cooked a supper for 15 family members with baked Pilgrim's Pride chicken as the main dish.  The next morning, my whole household had an MSG hangover!  I was very careful to prepare every dish I served from scratch with no suspicious ingredients.

Is there any action that can be taken to take Pilgrim's Pride to task for lying about the ingredients in their products?

Do you have other reports of  MSG-laden fresh poultry?  
Do you have any reports of major brands that are reliably free of MSG?  Some Perdue products do not come with the "enhanced" label.

Any other information you have regarding safe meat products would be appreciated.

Keep up the great work--I love your website.

L

_____________________________________________________

Subject: Re: MSG in "Broth" injections to fresh poultry?
Date: 10/19/2004 12:17:40 PM Central Standard Time
From: ADandJACK

 
L.

Pilgrim's Pride responded to you in a manner that is commonly used in the food industry.  They improperly and deceptively assumed that the term "MSG" only refers to the food ingredient "monosodium glutamate."  It is very likely that the broth and/or flavoring that is in the basting includes some processed free glutamic acid (MSG), the same reactive component found in the food ingredient "monosodium glutamate."
 
In the future, when contacting a food company about MSG, ask if their product contains "free glutamic acid."  It is far more difficult for a company to respond incorrectly to this question, but, in some cases they will.  In other cases, they will admit that their product contains "free glutamic acid," and then will go on and provide you with a great deal of misinformation to support their claim that that their product is safe for you.
 
To date, I have not seen a basted poultry product that is free of processed free glutamic acid (MSG).
 
One last point.  We have found that some MSG-sensitive people with little tolerance for MSG will act similarly from a product that includes phosphates.  Although we find nothing in the literature to support this fact, the literature does point out that phosphates use up calcium and magnesium in the body.  Since calcium and magnesium are involved in the metabolism of glutamic acid, this fact may explain why some MSG-sensitive people react to phosphates.
 
Most MSG-sensitive people purchase unbasted poultry products (sometimes labeled as "minimally processed") from smaller poultry producers.  Their concerns regarding larger poultry producers is that they may be using a final rinse product that contains processed free glutamic acid (MSG).
 
It will help our cause if you let your congressperson and senators in Washington know of what your family experienced, and urge him/her to see that all processed foods list free glutamic acid on the label, preferably referred to as "MSG," and that the amount present be stated in milligrams.
 
Short of taking legal action, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission and make a formal complaint against Pilgrim's Pride based on the product label and the response that you received to your question from the company.
 
Jack Samuels
Truth in Labeling Campaign

 
 
 
 
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This page was last updated on November 7, 2004.