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It appears that MSG made in China does not cause adverse reactions

The story told about monosodium glutamate (MSG) appears to differ according to who is telling it.  In the United States the story is about MSG safety.  It describes MSG as both occurring naturally in food and being naturally made, similar to yogurt, vinegar and wine.  And it contains glutamate that is identical to the glutamate in the human body.

The U.S. version goes on to explain that MSG has been used for over a century without adverse reactions. That it has been very well researched and found to be safe.

Not included in the story is the fact that since 1957, MSG manufactured and sold in the U.S. has been produced by genetically modified bacteria that secrete MSG though their cell walls (1)

And it is only since that time that questions about the safety of MSG have been raised.

In China, the story told about MSG is quite different.

In “The curious history of MSG in China, and a tour of an MSG Factory,” Christopher St. Cavish sets right off telling the reader that in China, there is no such thing as Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, which immediately caused me to wonder if the MSG produced in the U.S. and the MSG produced in China were actually different things. 

That idea was reinforced by St. Cavish’s statement, “I am both a proponent and detractor of MSG’s odorless, flavorless crystals, long fascinated by the contrast between their cultural baggage and supposed medical ill-effects in the US and their unconditional acceptance in Asia. If I, and other consumers and chefs, have a case against MSG, it is that it is a shortcut for chefs, who are able to skimp on the quality of ingredients and then use MSG to boost their flavor.”

The balance of St. Cavish’s article focuses on what he calls the “31 different types of MSG, from beef-flavored MSG to halal MSG, invented after a massive scandal in Indonesia in 2001 that revealed the local manufacturer was using pork enzymes in the production process.”  Again, St. Cavish emphasized the fact that “all MSG is the exact same thing. To the extent there are ‘brands’, it has to do with the size of the crystals and whether or not it’s been mixed with a flavoring, from regular table salt to dried mushrooms. But the MSG itself is identical. It starts off as a starch: depending on prices and geography, that might be beets, wheat, sugarcane, corn or cassava. Bacteria are added, which eat the starch and excrete glutamic acid. The bacteria are then killed, leaving the glutamic acid, which is isolated, purified and then dried into crystals, which are sorted by size. Ta-da. MSG! 95% of the stuff is made in China, where ingredients and labor are cheap.” 

The fact that MSG has been the subject of numerous articles written prior to 1957 without mention of adverse effects caused by MSG lends credence to the theory that adverse effects following ingestion of MSG were unknown prior to 1957, the date that use of genetically modified bacteria began. Add to that the fact that reports of adverse effects following ingestion of MSG only began to surface after the use of genetically modified bacteria to secrete glutamic acid commenced.

NOTES

(1) (Leung A, Foster S. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics. New York: Wiley, 1996.).   

Jordan Hand’s A Short History of MSG Good Science, Bad Science, and Taste Cultures is an excellent source of information.  (Jordan Sand, “A Short History of MSG: Good Science, Bad Science, and Taste Cultures,” Gastronomica 5:4 (Fall, 2005): 38-49.)

Christopher St. Cavishis an American food writer, based in Shanghai since 2005. 

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Everything you need to know about glutamate before your next trip to the supermarket

Glutamic acid (glutamate) is a building block of protein. When present in protein or released from protein in a regulated fashion, glutamate is vital to normal body function. It is the major neurotransmitter in the human body, carrying nerve impulses from glutamate stimuli to glutamate receptors throughout the body. Yet when present outside of protein in amounts that exceed what the healthy human body was designed to accommodate (when present in excess), glutamate takes on excitotoxic properties, becoming an excitotoxic neurotransmitter, firing repeatedly, damaging targeted glutamate-receptors and/or causing neuronal and non-neuronal death by over exciting glutamate receptors until their cells die.

Excitotoxicity of L-glutamic acid (glutamate) was first demonstrated in 1969. On April 3, 2019, a PubMed search for “glutamate” produced 157,021 references. Topics being researched included, but were not limited to, glutamate receptors, transport, excitotoxicity, release, transporter, brain, synthesis, monosodium glutamate, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, ALS, autism, schizophrenia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), epilepsy, ischemic stroke, seizures, Huntington’s disease, addiction, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.

Much, if not all of that research dealt with excitotoxicity caused by glutamate from endogenous1 sources. The contribution of glutamate from exogenous2 sources to endogenous glutamate pools through which excitotoxicity would be triggered, seems never to have been considered.

Overlooked also, is a wealth of knowledge that could be gleaned from the histories of humans who have suffered brain damage, endocrine disorders, and observable adverse reactions following intake of excitotoxic glutamate from exogenous sources.

With the following we present an overview of what we know, or think we know, about the function of glutamate in persons who have experienced reactions to it.  It is our hope that insights generated by this information may be used by researchers probing the mechanisms of glutamate toxicity, and by the medical professionals working with people who react to the excitotoxic effects of Manufactured free Glutamate.

Vulnerability

Everyone is vulnerable to the toxicity of excitotoxins if they get a heavy enough dose of them. There are no exceptions.  To be toxic, an excitotoxin must either target receptors that have become weakened or vulnerable to their attack, or be in such strong concentrations that no glutamate receptor can resist them. 

Vulnerability may be created by:

  • An inadequate BBB — allowing brain cells to be unprotected by a blood-brain barrier (BBB);
  • A damaged BBB;
  • Preexisting brain damage, possibly from a stroke, a blow to the head, or previously consuming a large quantity of Manufactured free glutamate at one sitting, and
  • Preexisting damage done to cells that host glutamate receptors in either the central nervous system or in peripheral tissue.

We know very little about the actions of excitotoxins. Glutamate loads on (triggers) glutamate receptors both in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissue (heart, lungs, and intestines, for example). When loading on (stimulating) a glutamate receptor, glutamate may simply stimulate receptors and then fade, so to speak; may damage the cells that those receptors cling to; or may stimulate those receptors (over-excite those receptors) until the cells that host them die.

There’s another possibility. There are a great many glutamate receptors in the brain. It is possible that if a few are damaged or wiped out following ingestion of Manufactured free glutamate, their loss may not be noticed because there would be many undamaged glutamate receptors remaining. It is also possible that individuals differ in the numbers of glutamate receptors that they have to begin with; that people with more glutamate receptors are less likely to demonstrate brain damage following ingestion of Manufactured free glutamate because even after some cells are killed or damaged, there are still sufficient undamaged cells to carry out normal functions.

Saying it another way, people with fewer receptors to begin with might be more likely to demonstrate brain damage following ingestion of MSG or MfG because they have fewer glutamate receptors remaining after excitotoxic insult than individuals who had more glutamate receptors to begin with. That might account for some people being more sensitive to Manufactured free glutamate than others.

Less is known about glutamate receptors outside the brain – in the heart, stomach, and lungs, for example. But it would be anticipated that in each location there would be fewer glutamate receptors siting on host cells than found in the brain; and for some individuals, there might be so few cells with glutamate receptors to begin with, that ingestion of even small amounts of Manufactured free glutamate might trigger asthma, atrial fibrillation, or irritable bowel, for example; while individuals with more cells hosting glutamate receptors to begin with, would not notice the loss of a relatively few cells.

Short-term effects of excitotoxic glutamate (effects like asthma and migraine headache) have long been obvious to all who are not swayed by the rhetoric of the glutamate industry and their friends, including friends at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Researchers may only now begin to correlate the adverse effects of glutamate ingestion with endocrine disturbances such as reproductive disorders and gross obesity, with some psychological disorders, and with neurodegenerative disease. And a few have begun to realize the importance of glutamate’s access to the human body through the mouth, through the nose, and through the skin.  

Excess

Glutamate is a non-essential amino acid, meaning that there is no need for a human to ingest glutamate as the body will produce what it needs from other available amino acids.

A reaction to glutamate, is a reaction to excess free glutamate. Because of differences in vulnerability, what is an excess for one will not necessarily be excess for another. While excess might ordinarily be defined as “more than is needed for normal body function,” that doesn’t seem to be the case with glutamate-sensitivity. Rather, excess seems to be related to the amount of glutamate that will damage or kill a given subject’s glutamate receptors.

Excess may be created by:

  • Eating enough Manufactured free glutamate at one sitting to trigger glutamate receptors on vulnerable cells;
  • Eating enough Manufactured free glutamate to trigger glutamate receptors on cells that had not previously been damaged or made vulnerable, and
  • Adding ingested Manufactured free glutamate to stores of glutamate in the body.

Manufactured free glutamate will be found in infant formula, protein powders, protein drinks, processed food, enteral care products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and dietary supplements. There is more than sufficient Manufactured free glutamate in processed foods to cause reactions in people who choose not to limit their access to Manufactured free glutamate. 

Data on availability will be found in grocery stores. Access a list of ingredients that contain Manufactured free glutamate (https://www.truthinlabeling.org/names.html), then look for products that don’t contain them. You won’t find 10 products that don’t contain at least one of the ingredients on that list, and every one of them contains Manufactured free glutamate. Consider how many of those Manufactured free glutamate containing products are in the meals and snacks enjoyed by people everywhere. Include restaurant foods in that tally.

Glutamate receptors

Glutamate receptors receive the glutamate sent to them by glutamate neurotransmitters. Although glutamate is essential to normal body function, when present in excess outside of intact protein it becomes excitotoxic, firing repeatedly and causing cell death and/or damage to targeted cells.

If cells are protected from excess glutamate, as the brain may be protected at least in part by a robust BBB, a little excess glutamate sent their way may not harm them. But if the BBB is ineffective, targeted cells die. Outside of the brain and central nervous system, glutamate-receptors may have no protective shield from excitotoxins at all.

Relatively recently, researchers discovered glutamate-receptors beyond the brain and central nervous system.  These include, but are not limited to peripheral receptors in the stomach, heart, lungs, kidney, liver, immune system, spleen, and testis. And cells associated with each may be damaged or killed if glutamate sent from glutamate neurotransmitters reaches them. It’s possible that these peripheral receptors may have some type of protection system, but if so, scientists have not yet identified it.

Years ago, it was thought to be remarkable that glutamate-toxicity worked through the brain, since glutamate could produce an immediate migraine headache. Glutamate eaten – brain triggered – headache happened within seconds. Today it is understood that glutamate can move directly to peripheral receptors without traveling through the brain.

It appears that cells that host glutamate receptors can be damaged if exposed to a little glutamate, but not enough to kill them outright. There might be times when one ingests enough Manufactured free glutamate to damage a cell, but not enough to kill it, or damage some of the cells in a group that control a particular function but not enough to knock out all of them. Ingest more glutamate on a second occasion, however, and those cells may die. Some Manufactured free glutamate sensitive people report that they can knowingly ingest Manufactured free glutamate in a favorite food on one occasion without noticing a reaction, but visibly react when that same food is consumed several days in a row.

What would increase glutamate receptor vulnerability?

Damage to the BBB would be the most obvious factor.  It is known that lack of blood-brain barrier development in the fetus and infant make them extremely vulnerable to exposure to Manufactured free glutamate passed through their mothers’ diets.

Damage done to the BBBs of mature humans through use of drugs, from seizures, stroke, head trauma, hypoglycemia, hypertension, extreme physical stress, high fever, and the normal process of aging, can render them more vulnerable than others.

Individual sensitivity may also be related to the integrity of cells or groups of cells that control a particular function. A person who has experienced heart problems might very well be predisposed to experiencing cardiac-related reactions by virtue of having glutamate receptors in the heart vulnerable to insult by glutamate. A person with asthma, is likely predisposed to having an asthma attack after consuming free glutamate.

Reports from consumers tell us that intensity or severity of reactions appear to be affected by alcohol ingestion and/or exercise just prior to, or immediately following MSG ingestion, and some women report variations in their reactions at different times in their menstrual cycles. 

Summary/conclusion

We have presented an overview of glutamate excitotoxicity gleaned in large part from persons who have experienced reactions to it.  This is information not generally considered by those researching abnormalities associate with glutamate.  Hopefully, insights generated by this information will be used by researchers probing the mechanisms of glutamate toxicity and by medical professionals working with people who react to the excitotoxic effects of Manufactured free glutamate.

1 growing or originating from within an organism.
2 originating from outside an organism.

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It never pays to screw around with Mother Nature

L-glutamate, the major neurotransmitter in humans, becomes excitotoxic when present outside of protein in excess of what the healthy human was designed to accommodate. That excess is readily available to consumers who ingest multiple free-glutamate-containing ingredients during the course of a day.  They will be found in all ultra-processed food, meat and poultry substitutes, protein drinks, supplements, pharmaceuticals, and even Infant formula.

The “Dose dependent toxicity of glutamic acid” tells the story.

Reference

Samuels, A. (2020) Dose dependent toxicity of glutamic acid: a review, International Journal of Food Properties, 23:1,412-419, DOI: 10.1080/10942912.2020.1733016

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There’s nothing controversial about the safety of MSG

There’s nothing controversial about the safety of MSG.

1) Its essential ingredient (manufactured free glutamate) kills brain cells when eaten , and

2) the “placebos” used in the GLUTES’ double-blind studies that ostensibly prove that MSG is harmless, always contain ingredients that produce adverse reactions identical to those caused by MSG test material .

The blogs that make up the web page titled “There are seven lines of evidence leading to the conclusion that the manufactured free glutamate (MfG) in monosodium glutamate is toxic” tell most of the story, with “Industry’s FDA” completing the picture.

There’s nothing controversial about the safety of MSG.

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More than 60 ingredients besides the one named MSG cause what shoppers call MSG-reactions.

When a popular grocery chain says they’re offering an entire line of products that contain no monosodium glutamate (MSG), if you’re serious about searching out quality food, you have to sit up and take notice.

Trader Joes offers what they call Joe’s Brand, a line of private label products with

  • NO artificial flavors 
  • NO artificial preservatives 
  • NO MSG
  • NO genetically modified ingredients
  • NO partially hydrogenated oils (artificial trans-fats)
  • And colors derived only from naturally available products

“Great quality fare for exceptional everyday prices,” is how these products are marketed. So, we thought we’d check out how they deal with MSG.

“No artificial flavors” is easy, it means the product will contain no artificial flavors. But MSG poses a problem because when Trader Joe’s advertises “NO MSG” the average shopper will think that means the food won’t cause MSG-type reactions. And that simply is not true.  That isn’t true because there are more than 60 ingredients besides the one named MSG that contain the one component of MSG – free glutamate — that actually causes what we call MSG-reactions. And those ingredients all have different names https://www.truthinlabeling.org/names.html

Casual conversation with shoppers, has made us aware that the NO MSG claim has given a false sense of security to health-conscious people who want to avoid MSG but do not yet understand that the toxic component of MSG (the manufactured free glutamate) will be found in 60+ ingredients in addition to the one named MSG. 

From a purely business standpoint, it may be for good reason that Trader Joe’s includes MSG in its list of banned ingredients in its private-label products. For health-conscious people, failure to ignore the toxic effects of MSG would surely ruin Trader Joe’s health-conscious image.  But they’re not concerned enough to share a list of ingredients that contain excitotoxic free glutamate (http://truthinlabeling.org/blog/2023/05/18/names-of-ingredients-that-contain-free-glutamate/) with their readers.  (It has been offered.) 

Note that all of the ingredients Trader Joe’s bans from its branded products are FDA approved.  That doesn’t say much for the FDA now does it?

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Hydrolyzed Pea Protein

Ingredients called “protein” on ingredient lists are not proteins.

Beef is “beef,” soy is “soy,” tomatoes are “tomatoes,” and peas are “peas.” Those are the FDA’s “common or usual names” for whole foods. “Pea protein” is made of man-made amino acids manufactured in food processing plants with peas as the starting material. And each and every man-made/manufactured hydrolyzed pea protein will contain the three potentially toxic amino acids* aspartic acid, L-cysteine, and glutamic acid. This is true for every hydrolyzed protein. It may be called “natural,” “organic,” or “raw,” but it will still contain potentially toxic aspartic acid, L-cysteine, and glutamic acid. There are no exceptions. And there are no toxic amino acids in whole protein.

Today, there is a widespread marketing effort to substitute hydrolyzed vegetable protein for real protein, and to expand the use of hydrolyzed proteins in general. While there certainly are other varieties of hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, pea protein is presently the favorite of food manufacturers.

Substituting vegetables for meat may have many benefits for consumers, but hydrolyzed vegetable proteins don’t deliver vegetables. What they provide are arrays of amino acids which are produced in food processing and/or chemical plants. And three of those amino acids (L-cysteine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid) can be toxic to humans. These three amino acids are called “excitotoxins” by scientists. When consumed in amounts that exceed what a human needs for normal body function, they cause brain damage, endocrine disorders, and observable reactions such as asthma, migraine headache, a-fib, fibromyalgia, and seizures. Glutamic acid is the amino acid in MSG that causes brain damage, endocrine disruption, and adverse reactions.

Manufacturers’ claims of benefits for manufacturers

1) Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins are making great inroads into health and nutrition markets.

2) Every hydrolyzed protein will have flavor-enhancing properties. Glutamic acid, the amino acid that triggers taste buds to cause increased perception of taste, will be found in all hydrolyzed proteins.

3) Clean labels are certainly at the top of the list. Unfortunately, not all consumers have caught on to the fact that glutamic acid (a.k.a. glutamate), which is the toxic component of MSG, will be found in all hydrolyzed proteins. So while more and more consumers are attempting to avoid MSG, substituting a flavor-enhancing hydrolyzed vegetable protein for flavor-enhancing MSG would allow the product to have a “clean label” – one that would give the consumer no clue that it contained glutamate, MSG’s toxic component.

4) Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins will have great appeal for vegetarians, vegans and others who want to limit their intake of meat.

Manufacturers’ claims of benefits for consumers (which will also benefit industry)

1) Protein-rich, non-animal products are in great demand as more and more people look for substitutes for meat, fish, and poultry. Hydrolyzed proteins contain the arrays of amino acids that make up most proteins. So, properly promoted, hydrolyzed protein products will appeal to those looking for vegetarian or vegan sources of dietary protein. The fact that high-protein diets are being touted for weight-loss, makes these products even more attractive.

2) Chemical-free claims are another way the food industry is hyping hydrolyzed proteins. Although all hydrolyzed proteins are produced in food processing and/or chemical plants, industry’s promotional materials refer to hydrolyzed vegetable proteins as being “natural” – saying they are derived from a variety of “natural plant resources.”

That should be no surprise since MSG, which is made by fermentation of carefully selected genetically engineered bacteria that secrete glutamic acid through their cell walls, is referred to by industry as “naturally occurring.”

A production flow sheet for manufacturing hydrolyzed vegetable protein

3) Claims of health benefits from hydrolyzed vegetable proteins are typically made. Market-watchers claim that consumer awareness of these so-called benefits is increasing. The claim has been made that hydrolyzed vegetable proteins will help reduce intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, and because it’s an effective way to lower cholesterol, it will decrease the risk of heart disease.

But even with all that propaganda going for it, something is still bothering the glutamate industry.

You’d think that with all their research and planning, glutamate industry giants would feel secure in their efforts to sell hydrolyzed proteins to naïve consumers. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. It would appear that consumers’ growing recognition of the toxic effects of the manufactured glutamic acid in MSG, hydrolyzed proteins, maltodextrin, and some other 40+ ingredients is getting in the way of sales. One industry watcher said it this way, “The high contents of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in hydrolyzed protein products continues to be a bottleneck for pervasive adoption as consumers show an unprecedented alacrity** to read labels to spot ingredients with a bad rep in terms of potential side effects.”

The Truth in Labeling Campaign would like to take some of the credit for that greater consumer awareness and “alacrity.” So, let’s hear it for the Truth in Labeling Campaign — since 1994, providing consumers with the names of ingredients in which manufactured free glutamate, the brain-damaging, endocrine-disrupting, reaction-causing component of MSG, are hidden.

*killing brain cells and disrupting the endocrine system when present in quantity
**enthusiasm, readiness, quickness, promptness, speed, swiftness, rapidity, keenness, zeal

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Deceiving people is big business

Deceiving people, as is done so artfully by BIG FOOD and BIG PHARMA, is big business, and hiding the fact that excitotoxic – brain damaging – manufactured free glutamate is being used without limit in processed and ultra-processed food, is no exception.

Roquette, an old established international firm that defines itself as a global leader in specialty food and nutrition ingredients, is a prime example (https://www.roquette.com).

One of their top sellers for manufacturers to include in “sports nutrition” beverages is pea protein isolate. While they made a big deal out of it being “organic,” they never mention the fact that pea protein isolates are excitotoxins. Learn more about what these so-called proteins are here: truthinlabeling.org/blog/2019/08/26/hydrolyzed-pea-protein

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Eating all your fruits and vegetables?

Eating all your fruits and vegetables and still not feeling as chipper as you used to?  You’ve probably checked the purity of the water you drink and determined that you don’t live over a toxic waste dump.  But have you checked for excitotoxic – brain damaging – free glutamate in the processed foods you’re eating — even ones considered “healthy”?  You’ll find the names of excitotoxic ingredients that are used in food at: https://www.truthinlabeling.org/assets/ingredient_names.pdf

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The deadly pact between the glutamate industry and the FDA

The FDA doesn’t just ignore the toxicity of free glutamate. Taking their lead from the producers of monosodium glutamate (MSG), the FDA actively promotes the fiction that MSG is a harmless food additive.  “Industry’s FDA,” which follows directly below, pretty much tells it all.

If you know anyone who doesn’t yet understand that the FDA works hand in glove with BIG FOOD and BIG PHARMA, make sure they read “Industry’s FDA.”

Industry’s FDA

The FDA’s cooperation with Ajinomoto to promote the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) was first evidenced in 1969 during testimony given before the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Health on the safety of MSG by then FDA Commissioner Ley. Commissioner Ley testified to four studies that allegedly demonstrated the safety of MSG. It was later confirmed that two of those studies had not been completed, and the others didn’t exist.

Since that time FDA/industry cooperation has included:

Telling blatant lies about the safety of MSG, lies originating with the glutamate industry and repeated by the FDA.

Dispensing complementary information about MSG while withholding information that might be considered negative.

Officially approving study protocols for MSG-is-safe studies that used placebos known to cause the same reactions as those caused by MSG test material.

Allowing glutamate-industry propaganda to be displayed on the FDA webpage, https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/questions-and-answers-monosodium-glutamate-msg

Refusing to collect reports of reactions to MSG “because we know that no one reacts to MSG.”

Withholding key information from dietitians, nutritionists, consumers, and the medical community such as:

        • The glutamate in MSG, and therefor MSG itself, is excitoxic – brain damaging.

        • There is a second excitotoxic amino acid used in food.  It’s the aspartic acid component of “sugar-free” or “low calorie” sweeteners with names such as aspartame, equal, and AminoSweet.

        • When used in pharmaceuticals, glutamic acid is regulated as a drug. When used in food, glutamate is regulated as a food.

        • When used in pharmaceuticals, the many and varied reactions following use of glutamic acid are called side effects.

        • When used in food, the many and varied reactions following ingestion of glutamate-containing MSG are not acknowledged as side effects of glutamic acid, although that’s exactly what they are.

        • Adverse reactions known to be caused by excitotoxic manufactured free glutamate (MfG) are many and varied, ranging from simple skin rash to anaphylactic shock.  They are listed at https://www.truthinlabeling.org/recognizingadverse.html#list_adverse

        • When used as a discrete ingredient in processed food, excitotoxic manufactured free glutamate (MfG) will be labeled glutamic acid, L-glutamic acid, L-glutamate, glutamate or E620.

        • MfG is also found as a constituent of ingredients that contain glutamate that has been freed from protein during fermentation or other forms of processing.  These include, but are not limited to, anything “hydrolyzed,” “autolyzed” or “enzyme-modified.” The list of ingredients known at this time to contain MfG can be found at https://www.truthinlabeling.org/names.html.

        • Manufactured free glutamic acid (MfG) is always accompanied by unwanted by-products of manufacture – referred to as impurities. There are impurities associated with the L-glutamate in monosodium glutamate (since monosodium glutamate is manufactured), but there are no similar impurities in the intact protein found in the human body.

        • The popular method for producing monosodium glutamate today calls for feeding carefully selected genetically modified bacteria on a diet that will enable the bacteria to secrete glutamic acid through their cell walls. There have been a variety of such methods used since 1957– many, if not all of which, are patented.

        • Monosodium glutamate exerts its influence on receptors in the central nervous system and glutamate receptors in many peripheral tissues, including lungs, heart, and skin.  It can excite – and over-excite – receptors in the brain and central nervous system, and also excite and over-excite receptor cells in the heart, kidney, lungs, ovary, testis, liver, endocrine tissues, bone, and immune system, for example.

        • There may be some small amount of free glutamic acid in unprocessed, unadulterated, food, but if so, it will not cause brain damage or adverse reactions.  It is conceivable, but has not been demonstrated, that the impurities in manufactured free glutamate contribute to MSG-induced brain damage and adverse reactions.  In this area, as in many others, research is sorely needed.

        • The studies of the 1970s demonstrating that glutamic acid causes brain lesions were so well done and so often replicated that by the 1980’s glutamic acid was being used by researchers as a tool to selectively kill brain cells. It is still used for that purpose in the laboratory.

        • Monosodium glutamate stimulates glutamate receptors in the mouth and on the tongue (often referred to as taste buds by the glutamate industry).  That results in producing perception of more taste in the food being eaten than would otherwise be.

It is (or was), an FDA rule to investigate the reports of life-threatening reactions to FDA regulated substances, however, such investigations have not been routinely executed.

In addition, on at least two separate occasions for which we have documentation, medical records of life-threatening reactions to MSG were altered/falsified.

The FDA has pretended to be concerned with public health, but has refused to require that processed free glutamic acid in processed foods, infant formula, enteral care products, protein powders, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and dietary supplements be labeled, so consumers could avoid it if they chose to do so. 

In 1989, Jack Samuels and George Schwartz met with ranking members of the FDA to discuss what Samuels and Schwartz referred to as the hazards of consuming monosodium glutamate. Since Schwartz did all of the talking, Samuels entertained himself by taking minutes of the meeting. When the requested official FDA minutes of the meeting were received by Schwartz and Samuels, they found the only similarity between their copy and the FDA’s was the names of the people who had attended.

A 50-year history of FDA/glutamate-industry cooperation

The FDA makes and enforces food labeling laws, and it is the FDA that determines whether or not MSG, or any other chemical, will be approved for use in food. The FDA has been cooperating with Ajinomoto Company, Inc., members of its International Glutamate Technical Committee (IGTC) and The Glutamate Association, and with the International Hydrolyzed Protein Council since at least 1968. The bottom line of that cooperative effort as it pertains to regulation of MSG is to prevent full and clear disclosure of MSG in processed food – or any other product or drug where it may be added.

Glutamate industry involvement in FDA matters is rarely obvious. That’s what makes it so effective in preventing meaningful labeling of MSG. FDA/industry cooperation can be traced back to 1958, when “monosodium glutamate” was first deemed “safe” by the FDA.

MSG could be deemed to be safe because prior to the 1958 implementation of the Food Additives Amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, there had been no record of adverse reactions to monosodium glutamate.  But what was known as MSG prior to 1958 was replace in 1957 by a different product also called MSG that was made using genetically modified bacteria. The FDA took no notice of the change.

It was not until 1968 that the first report of adverse reactions to monosodium glutamate was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, and not until 1969 that the first evidence that monosodium glutamate caused brain lesions and endocrine disorders in laboratory animals was published in Science.

The FDA has built and then reinforced its case for the “safety” of MSG on misleading and deceptive studies sponsored by the glutamate industry. FDA regulations require that those who manufacture food additives must provide evidence demonstrating that they are “safe.” The glutamate industry has, indeed, presented evidence, but they have falsified data — not by changing test scores or research results, but by rigging the procedures used in conducting their studies so that only after careful scrutiny could one discern that their studies were flawed to the point of being fraudulent.* Glutamate industry studies are generally methodologically inadequate, statistically unsound, and/or irrelevant to the safety/toxicity of MSG. Researchers have gone so far as to use aspartame and/or MSG in placebos to cause subjects to respond to placebos just as they would respond to monosodium glutamate test material. In addition, industry’s researchers have been known to draw conclusions that did not follow from the results of their studies.

Over the course of the last 50 years, the FDA has summarily dismissed much of the research that clearly demonstrates that MSG places humans at risk. They don’t counter it. They simply ignore it. Reports of adverse reactions to MSG grudgingly collected by its own Adverse Reactions Monitoring System have been dismissed because “they could have been caused by something else.”

The FDA has suppressed results of studies that might suggest that use of MSG places humans at risk. The FDA suppressed results of its own study that suggested that use of free glutamic acid in supplements is unsafe. In a July 1992, report to the FDA, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) had concluded, in part, that: “…it is prudent to avoid the use of dietary supplements of L-glutamic acid by pregnant women, infants, and children…. and…by women of childbearing age and individuals with affective disorders.” (MSG is called L-glutamic acid when used in supplements.) Mention has not been made of those recommendations – not to the medical community or anywhere else.

Books have been written detailing FDA corruption. The following are examples:

Eating May Be Hazardous To Your Health – The Case Against Food Additives, by Jacqueline Verrett and Jean Carper

Health at Gunpoint: The FDA’s Silent War Against Health Freedom (Paperback), by James Gormley 

The Rise Of Tyranny (Paperback), by Jonathan W. Emord 

Codex Alimentarius Global Food Imperialism by Scott Tips 

Inside the FDA: The Business and Politics Behind the Drugs We Take and the Food We Eat (Hardcover), by Fran Hawthorne

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply (Paperback), by Vandana Shiva 

The Truth about the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do about It (Paperback), by Marcia Angell 

The FDA has refused to recall foods advertised as “No MSG,” “No Added MSG,” or “No MSG Added” even though those foods contain ingredients that are sources of free glutamic acid such as hydrolyzed protein, and are, therefore, in direct violation of Section 403(a)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

FDA practice has included distributing unsolicited copies of an FDA Medical Bulletin that assures physicians that MSG is safe. Similar material has been distributed to food service people.

FDA practice has included reviewing the subject of monosodium glutamate safety favorably in “The FDA Consumer,” “Talk Papers,” “Backgrounders,” “FDA Consumer MEMO’s,” pamphlets such as “Food Additives” — FDA in Cooperation with IFIC; and sending out packets of consumer information: Consumer Information, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).

FDA practice has been to name monosodium glutamate in the FDA’s list of safe food ingredients: 

FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETICS ACT Title 21 – Food and Drugs

Chapter 1 – Food and Drug Administration Department of Health and Human Services

SUBCHAPTER B — FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION 

Part 182 – Substances generally recognized as safe

Subpart A—General provisions

Sec. 182.1 Substances that are generally recognized as safe

(a) It is impracticable to list all substances that are generally recognized as safe for their intended use. However, by way of illustration, the Commissioner regards such common food ingredients as salt, pepper, vinegar, baking powder, and monosodium glutamate as safe for their intended use.

In the January-February 2003 FDA Consumer magazine, Michelle Meadows spewed out paragraphs that look like they came right off the Web pages of The Glutamate Association and the International Glutamate Information Service that give the appearance of trying to convince consumers that processed free glutamic acid is “safe” while saying nothing of merit. The article was titled, “MSG: A Common Flavor Enhancer.”

In the late 1980s, the FDA established an Adverse Reactions Monitoring system (ARMS) concerned with the retrieval, processing, and analysis of data related to adverse health effects associated with specific food products and additives. The ARMS was a passive surveillance system allegedly designed to identify specific areas for focused clinical investigations on potentially causal associations. At one time, ARMS collected (not solicited, just collected) reports of adverse reactions to aspartame, monosodium glutamate, and sulfites. But since 1998 when a lawsuit demanding full labeling of MSG was dropped, the FDA no longer accepts reports of adverse reactions following ingestion of MSG or aspartame (the two excitotoxic amino acids used in food). 

When called upon to investigate charges that the behavior of the FDA was inappropriate, the FDA/HHS Office of the Inspector General made sure that the investigation would be killed by turning the investigation over to the Office of Research Integrity, which under no circumstances would have jurisdiction in this matter. 

When challenged in a lawsuit over full and clear labeling of MSG (August 29, 1995), the Court considered nothing but the Administrative Record presented by the FDA. Studies that demonstrated MSG had toxic potential were not allowed as evidence because they were not submitted to the Court by the FDA as part of its Administrative Record. The Administrative record was made up of material that the FDA needed in order to win its case (refusal to label MSG), plus a smattering of material from the opposition that had no bite to it, but to which the FDA could point and say, “we looked at that.”

The FDA has distorted results of its own research to serve the propaganda needs of the glutamate industry. In a 1995 study, the FDA’s Daniels, Joe, and Diachenko misrepresented their own data about the toxicity of monosodium glutamate, also misrepresenting research findings of others (2).

In 1971, the FDA’s Lynch, Lewis, and Adkins reported that hyperglycemia along with growth suppression followed ingestion of MSG and noted that hyperglycemia did not occur when subjects were given intact protein containing a large amount of glutamate – an observation that the FDA has chosen to ignore in favor of promoting the glutamate industry line that the L-glutamate in monosodium glutamate and in the human body are identical in all ways (3).

Historically, in setting up reviews of the safety (never toxicity) of monosodium glutamate, the FDA has contracted with groups that provided consultants with strong ties to the glutamate industry, and/or structured their allegedly “independent” reviews to consider only industry-approved data. 

Historically, every time concern about MSG toxicity has intensified, the FDA has called for an “independent” review of the safety of MSG and has, thereby, stalled addressing the issue of MSG toxicity. 

In 1992, the FDA contracted with FASEB to do an “independent” review of the safety of MSG in food. Every aspect of that study was marked by lack of objectivity and FDA/FASEB pro-industry bias. In their Request for Proposal, for example, the FDA asked questions that could not be answered, appointed Expert Panel members (at least four of the eight members selected by FASEB) who had ties to the glutamate industry, and attempted to eliminate relevant non-industry-produced data from consideration.

Legislators who inquired about the safety of MSG at that time were routinely told that the issue was being studied. 

Manufacturers who inquired about the safety of MSG were told there was a study under way.

When a draft of the FASEB final report was submitted to the FDA in September 1994, that top-secret report was shared with the glutamate industry, found unacceptable, and sent back to FASEB by the FDA for “further study” — with instructions that FASEB should include the misinformation that consumers would not react to less than 2.5 or 3 grams processed free glutamic acid taken in a single meal. This was the path designed to pave the way for calling for a labeling threshold of 3.0 grams or more processed free glutamic acid (but not less than 3.0 grams processed free glutamic acid) if in the future the glutamate industry considered it necessary to allege that all MSG in processed food was identified through food labeling.

The FDA/FASEB contract to provide “clarification” was signed February 1, 1995. The new contract provided the FDA with ammunition that they would use for refusing to identify all MSG in processed food if, in the future, they might be pressured to do so.

Everything about that contract and the way in which it was executed suggests that the FDA/FASEB report published in 1995 was undertaken in order to justify the FDA’s refusal to require that all MSG in processed food be labeled.

Specifically, the FDA asked FASEB to review data relevant to possible limitations on the use of glutamates and to review data relevant to recommendations for special labeling requirements, and/or recommended levels of use of glutamates. As if to guarantee the outcome of the FASEB report, the FDA, in the “Background Section” of its contract, referred to evidence that people react to doses of 3 grams or more MSG, but failed to refer to evidence (from the same study as well as others) that people react to doses of less than 3 grams MSG. The FDA also mentioned, in its new contract, that asthma can be “worsened” with doses of more than 2.5 grams MSG, but failed to mention that asthma can also be “worsened” with doses of less than 2.5 grams MSG, and that MSG can trigger asthma-type attacks in non-asthmatics. Finally, the FASEB study’s outcome was guaranteed by the facts that FASEB was required 1) to respond directly to questions asked by the FDA; 2) to respond only to questions asked by the FDA; and 3) to review certain data, while ignoring certain other data.

The FDA’s rejection of the FASEB September 1994 draft final report on the safety of MSG in food was not without precedent. When FASEB submitted a report on the safety of MSG to the FDA in July 1978, the FDA returned the report “for updating in light of new information on these substances presented at an international symposium in May, 1978.” The symposium in question had been sponsored by the glutamate industry, and, with rare exception, the research reported had been sponsored by them, too.

Following the 1995 release of the “independent” FASEB report, the FDA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which reinforced the design for labeling some processed free glutamic acid, but not all processed free glutamic acid, if the FDA was forced to label processed free glutamic acid. The point was to set the minimum for labeling at 3.0 grams processed free glutamic acid which would ensure that some, but not all, processed free glutamic acid would be labeled and that most would remain unlabeled. This was notice of a possible proposal, not an actual proposal on which the public could formally comment.

Controlling reviews of the “safety” (never “toxicity”) of MSG has not been the glutamate industry’s only strategy for proving that monosodium glutamate is a harmless food additive. Their power can be seen in the FDA’s appointment of Andrew G. Ebert, Ph.D., then Chairman of the IGTC, and Kristen McNutt, Ph.D., J.D., a spokesperson sponsored by The Glutamate Association, to the FDA Food Advisory Committee — and the FDA’s refusal to appoint a single person who might be considered a legitimate consumer advocate.

The appointment of McNutt and Ebert, and refusal to appoint a true consumer advocate, demonstrate clear cut conflict of interest. Ebert’s appointment, and the subsequent refusal to dismiss him, also demonstrate the FDA’s complicity in clear cut scientific fraud.

Why fraud? Because Ebert had distributed both test materials and material that he called placebos (allegedly inert substances that could not possibly cause a physical reaction in a person who ingested them) for use in double-blind studies designed to demonstrate that monosodium glutamate is safe. And the supposed placebos that Ebert distributed were not inert substances at all, but, known to Ebert, contained aspartame, a substance made up of aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and a methyl esther. Aspartic acid is a neurotoxic amino acid and structural analog of glutamic acid, the neurotoxic ingredient in MSG. Both aspartic acid and glutamic acid cause brain lesions, retinal deterioration, and neuroendocrine disorders in laboratory animals. In addition, the adverse reactions to aspartame on file with the FDA are the same reactions — literally the same reactions — reported to the FDA by people who are sensitive to MSG. Even the relative frequencies with which the reactions occur are the same. Could it be by other than purposeful intent that Ebert not only defiled the integrity of the placebo, but used in his placebos a substance that would not only guarantee adverse reactions in people who were exposed to amounts that exceeded their dose tolerance levels, but would precipitate the same reactions as monosodium glutamate? For more about Ebert, click here.

The face at the FDA 

Michael Taylor was industry’s man at the FDA for a number of years, serving as the Deputy Commissioner there from 2010 to 2016. He came from Monsanto, producer of Glyphosate, Roundup’s active ingredient and the most widely used herbicide in the United States, and leader in creation and sales of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

To our knowledge, Taylor has never worked directly for Ajinomoto. But Ajinomoto and Monsanto have worked closely together for years. And Taylor was there front and center on “60 Minutes” for the glutamate industry when the glutamate industry was looking for someone to testify to the safety of monosodium glutamate. Who better to testify to the safety of monosodium glutamate on CBS than someone at the FDA? For a video of the 60 Minutes program, click here. 

Until it was made public that Ajinomoto’s agent-in-charge-of-research was supplying his researchers with placebos that would cause the same reactions as those caused by MSG, Andrew Ebert, Ph.D., Chairman of Ajinomoto’s International Glutamate Technical Committee was Ajinomoto’s agent-in-charge-of-research. 

The big picture

You have to understand just how the game is played in order to appreciate the hold that industry has on every branch of government in this country, on a large part of the scientific community, and on the media. If MSG was ever identified on food labels, consumers might notice that MSG was possibly causing or exacerbating illness and disease and exposing that fact would cost the glutamate industry billions of dollars in lost revenues. So researchers are hired to turn out research that claims to have demonstrated the safety of MSG; physicians, “scientists,” and public relations firms are hired to fabricate stories about the safety of MSG; and the FDA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) do the bidding of the rich and powerful food, drug, and cosmetic industries — pronouncing that their toxic products are “safe.” And the people we have elected to public office ignore the fact that millions of pounds of neurotoxic MSG are being fed to our children, ourselves, and the elderly, that millions of people are suffering because of it and that the use of this excitotoxic amino acid in processed food contributes exponentially to the cost of health care in this country. 

It’s the same game that is currently being played by Ajinomoto over its aspartame interests. It’s the same game that is now being played by Monsanto/Bayer over Roundup, glyphosate, and GMOs. It’s the same game that’s been played for years by the cigarette industry. 

The FDA is diametrically opposed to informing consumers about where MSG is hidden in food. For two decades, the glutamate industry, led by Ajinomoto Company, Inc. and the FDA, and the USDA maintained that MSG did not cause or exacerbate brain lesions or neuroendocrine disorders. Later, no longer able to deny the relationship between MSG and brain lesions, the glutamate industry, moved to the argument that brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders can be caused by MSG, but only in laboratory animals, and that what applies to laboratory animals does not apply to humans. And the FDA and the USDA made no comment.

The animal studies were followed by carefully rigged human studies not disputed by the FDA as demonstrating the safety of MSG.  And to provide a fail-safe to guard against the possibility that down the road the House or Senate might insist on transparency in MSG labeling, the glutamate industry changed its strategy for assuring that MSG would not be honestly labeled. Instead of having the FDA claim that essentially no one is sensitive to MSG, Ajinomoto and friends would agree to labeling some MSG, but not all MSG. They would agree to labeling MSG only when found in amounts that far exceeded the amounts of MSG presently found in processed food.

And if you are concerned? You, the taxpayer? You, the voter? Industry depends on the fact that most consumers will throw up their hands in frustration and disgust and do nothing. Industry also depends on the fact that they control the media. Not since 1991 when 60 Minutes did its segment on MSG (which got national coverage), has there been a negative mention about MSG in any major media outlet. 

When it was demonstrated to the FDA that all of the research that had been submitted as evidence that monosodium glutamate was a harmless food additive was flawed – flawed to the point of being fraudulent* — the FDA did nothing.

MSG is all about money. Both in and out of the FDA.

References

1. Schwartz, G. In Bad Taste: The MSG Syndrome, Santa Fe, Health Press, 1988

2. Daniels, D.H., Joe, F.L. and Diachenko, G.W. (1995). Determination of free glutamic acid in a variety of foods by high-performance liquid chromatography. Food Additives and Contaminants 12:21-29.

3. Lynch, JF Jr, Lewis LM, Adkins JS. Monosodium glutamate-induced hyperglycemia in weanling rats. Fed Proc. 1971;30(2):460Abs (Abstract #1477).

* The term ‘fraud’ is generally defined in the law as an intentional misrepresentation of material existing fact made by one person to another with knowledge of its falsity and for the purpose of inducing the other person to act, and upon which the other person relies with resulting injury or damage. [Fraud may also include an omission or intentional failure to state material facts, knowledge of which would be necessary to make other statements not misleading.] Accessed on 11/4/2010 at the ‘Lectric Law Library’s Lexicon.      

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Make a difference. Be like Pat.

Pat recently moved into a retirement community where the food service manager didn’t understand that the poison contained in MSG would be found in lots of the food he was serving. The manager didn’t recognize that the food was every bit as harmful as if he had used MSG.

Pat is smart. She knew he would find the list of the 60-plus dangerous MSG-like ingredients overwhelming. So, Pat printed up cards with the names of ingredients she felt would be most important for everyone to avoid and shared it with him.

Here’s the card Pat printed up:

NO MSG SURVIVAL CARD 

I am extremely sensitive to ANY ingredients containing MSG.  Please be sure that nothing with these words is in my food order.  If in doubt, show me the ingredient list.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
glutamate or glutamic acid
Hydrolyzed/glutamic acid
Gelatin
Bouillon/broth stock
Flavor(s) flavoring(s)
Caseinate
Carrageenan
Yeast extract
Soy sauce

Now, the food is healthier, and the food service manager looks good too.