Umami Unleashed - Dispelling Msg Myths
When I moved to San Francisco, I noticed something interesting in supermarkets: many food packages were labeled “No MSG.”
This stood out to me because I had never seen such labels in Japan, where I am from. Intrigued, I began to wonder what MSG is and why it’s perceived as harmful.
As I looked into it, I learned that monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer first commercialized by a Japanese company, Ajinomoto, and it is commonly added to canned vegetables, soups, and processed meats. More importantly, I discovered that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies MSG as “generally recognized as safe,” placing it in the same category as salt and pepper. This means that, based on scientific evidence, MSG is safe to consume in normal amounts.
But if MSG is scientifically considered safe, why do so many food packages proudly advertise “No MSG”? You rarely see labels boasting “No Salt” or “No Pepper.” If companies are using this label to appeal to consumers, what is driving the demand to avoid MSG in the first place?
To understand this skepticism, I looked into the history of MSG skepticism. In the 1960s, a small number of Americans who ate Chinese food reported experiencing symptoms such as drowsiness, facial flushing, itching, headaches, body numbness, and mild back discomfort. These symptoms were collectively dubbed “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” after Robert Ho Man Kwok published a letter with the same name in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1968.
Notably, this wasn’t a formal scientific research paper—it was just a anecdotal letter to the editor describing these symptoms. Still, its publication seems to have sparked widespread suspicion about MSG. The following year, The New York Times published a report linking MSG to Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, further amplifying public concern.
Despite subsequent scientific studies debunking the association between MSG and these symptoms, the negative perception persisted. Even today, many people instinctively distrust MSG, even though there is no solid evidence to support these fears.
Many argue that the MSG myth is rooted in racism, but it is bigger than that. Interestingly, skepticism about MSG is not a recent or American phenomenon. Misinformation about it has circulated for over a century—even in Japan, where MSG was first discovered by the chemist Kikunae Ikeda and commercialized by Ajinomoto.
An example of this dates back to an opinion advertisement published on May 13, 1922, in the Tokyo Asahi Paper. Issued under the name of Suzuki Shoten, the predecessor of Ajinomoto, the ad stated: “We declare to the world that Ajinomoto is absolutely not made from snakes.” This was a direct response to misinformation claiming that their MSG product was derived from snakes.
This pattern of consumer misconceptions raises a deeper question: why do people keep making the same mistake for over 100 years?
Reflecting on this, I realized it might stem from the naturalistic fallacy, a concept I’ve mentioned before. People often distrust additives because they perceive them as “unnatural” and therefore harmful.
But where does this deep-rooted preference for “natural” foods come from? One possible explanation is the historical backlash against industrial pollution.
I’ve previously discussed examples like DDT, asbestos, and lead-based paints, which contributed to widespread distrust of industrial chemicals. In Japan, a 1973 investigation by the Kawasaki City Pollution Control Bureau found that Ajinomoto, among other factories, had been discharging mercury into Tokyo Bay at dangerously high levels. At the same time, the company was also involved in producing and selling DDT, a synthetic pesticide widely used after World War II. Cases like these reinforced the idea that anything industrial or synthetic must be dangerous, especially when the company has been involved in the industrial pollution in the past.
In reality, the fear of food additives isn’t rooted in science—it’s tradition. My mother warned me about them, just as many parents do, passing down skepticism without question. But “natural” isn’t always better, and progress has made food safer, not riskier.
MSG’s story is a reminder of how old fears outlive the facts—and how deeply ingrained beliefs can shape our choices, even when the evidence says otherwise.