The Covid-19 pandemic has presented untold challenges for people everywhere. For certain segments of the U.S. food industry, however, it was likely a dream come true.
Sales of what the FDA calls “substitute” foods are off the charts, and new products are being introduced at a record pace. According to industry experts, last year saw an almost 30 percent increase in these “foods,” with sales hitting the $7 billion mark (that’s right, B as in billion), far exceeding the growth of the “total U.S. retail food market.” As a result, experts now consider 2020 to have been “a breakout year for plant-based foods across the store.”
But what do those billions of dollars in sales represent? Not a healthy new way to eat while saving the planet, that’s for sure. In truth, these products, which are advertised as being wholesome alternatives to real meat, fish and eggs, are chemically laden promotors of obesity, infertility and migraines, filled with brain-damaging manufactured free glutamic acid (MfG) — the same toxic ingredient found in monosodium glutamate.
So, what are these toxic products made from and how do manufacturers get away with using the names of real food on their packaging?
Ersatz eggs
Let’s start with plant-based “eggs,” an unknown commodity just a short time ago that is now out-selling the real deal at ten times the rate.
The leader in the artificial egg game is JUST, Inc., makers of JUST Egg, which contains nothing that any reasonable person would consider having come from a bird of any kind. JUST, however, has no shame about splashing the word EGG all over its product and website. The company (known as Hampton Creek when it introduced its first fake product, mock mayo) is apparently taking advantage of an odd FDA loophole in the “standard of identity” (SOI) for what can be called an egg. While the FDA requires that there be a legally binding SOI for hundreds of items from peanut butter to pasta (consisting of a detailed description of that food), you won’t find eggs among them. And, to make things even crazier, the FDA is prohibited from creating an SOI for eggs.
So, a product concocted of mung bean protein isolate (containing MSG’s toxic component MfG), canola oil, tetrasodium pyrophosphate (a thickening agent or coagulant) and transglutaminase (a.k.a. “meat glue”), among other highly processed ingredients, came to be called “egg,” outselling highly nutritional real eggs.
Fake fish
The ever-expanding market for imitation food has reeled in a host of phony fish dishes, the latest coming from “Good Catch,” with its “fish-free TUNA.”
This product contains more brain damaging MfG ingredients than any other product we’ve previously looked at, including pea protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, faba protein, lentil protein, soy protein isolate, citric acid and yeast extract.
Why the company has not been challenged by the FDA for false and misleading labeling isn’t clear, since the FDA has a long list of what can legally be called tuna, which is limited to actual varieties of real fish. Nestle, which also makes a faux fish product at least calls it “Vuna,” a product that “tastes like tuna.”
That little detail hasn’t stopped “Good Catch” from netting millions of dollars in investment capital, including close to $30 million in its latest round of funding.
The big kahuna of mock meat
While meatless burgers and nuggets have been around for some time, it wasn’t until Impossible Foods came along with the additive-filled concoction it calls a “burger” that the market for consuming bogus beef took off.
While Impossible claims it’s busy saving the Earth from devastation, it doesn’t have much to say on its main component, soy-protein concentrate, an MfG filled excitotoxic ingredient. And that’s not the only one. You’ll also find natural flavors, potato protein, yeast extract and soy-protein isolate in their “burgers.”
Aside from the known brain-damaging nature of these ingredients, there’s also a GMO ingredient called soy leghemoglobin, or heme, added as a color additive to make the burger appear to “bleed” like real meat. That’s now the subject of a lawsuit filed by The Center for Food Safety (CFS) challenging the FDA’s approval of the ingredient.
This genetically modified soy (a newcomer to the human diet), was OK’d by the FDA without “extensive safety testing before approving its use,” CFS states.
The heme is produced by a chemically complex process in which the DNA from genetically modified soy is extracted, inserted into genetically engineered yeast and fermented to produce genetically engineered heme.
The FDA has no comment as to the regulatory compliance of these fake foods other than saying (in a 2018 press release) that it’s on a “fast track” in reviewing “substitute” food products. The last we were told by the FDA is that staffers there are busy reading over 13,000 comments on this issue and that they take “labeling concerns seriously.” But apparently not all that seriously, as more and more foods that aren’t really foods are being manufactured and misleadingly labeled all the time.
How one health crisis is helping to fuel another
It seems that it took a world-wide health crisis to give these “substitute” products the push needed to rake in those billions in sales. Along with meat shortages last year and the all-around difficulty in buying actual food items, somehow these products became labeled by some as “healthier” eating, with numerous articles attributing the plant-based “revolution” to Covid-19.
But despite all the extravagant claims made by manufacturers, if you read the ingredient labels on these products you’ll find that they are not eggs, meat or fish, and not the kinds of “plants” grown by farmers either. As we’ve said before, a better name might be chemical-based junk foods.
Finally…
Watch out for products that make protein claims on the packaging. Most are made from combinations of manufactured free amino acids such as those found in MSG and in aspartame. This includes snack bars, cookies, smoothie mixes, protein powders and protein drinks in addition to fake eggs, fish, and meat.
All, “substitute” protein products will contain MSG or its toxic MfG.
Remember also that soy, pea and bean protein do not taste remotely like meat, fish or eggs, so MfG-containing flavor enhancers like MSG are added to trick your tongue into making that taste association.
Check out our list of ingredient names that contain MfG as well as our brochure to take shopping with you. Better yet, if you want to do all you can to have a healthy diet, ditch the processed foods and ultra-processed fake foods, altogether.
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.
Deep in the FDA’s “Food Code” lies Annex 4, Table 2b. Added Chemical Hazards at Retail, along with Their Associated Foods and Control Measures that lists monosodium glutamate as an “Added Chemical Hazard.”
Knowing that Ajinomoto, producer of MSG, has expressed concern that MSG is getting “a bad rap,” I thought it only proper that all of the ingredients that contain manufactured free glutamate, MSG’s excitotoxic – brain damaging – component, should be listed along with MSG as added chemical hazards.
So, on March 1st of this year I filed Citizen Petition # FDA-2021-P-0267 requesting that the FDA Commissioner add hydrolyzed protein, autolyzed yeast, maltodextrin and the names of all other ingredients that contain excitotoxic manufactured free glutamic acid to the Food Code, Annex 4, Table 2b, “Added Chemical Hazards at Retail, Along with Their Associated Foods and Control Measures.”
Petition to replace the FDA webpage post titled “Questions and Answers on Monosodium Glutamate” with accurate information about the additive, including its toxic potential: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FDA-2021-P-0301-0001
Adrienne Samuels
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.
According to the FDA’s “best advice” on food safety, monosodium glutamate (MSG) is considered an “added chemical hazard.”
That warning will be found in the FDA’s Food Code, considered to be the agency’s “best recommendations” on food safety issues for retail food establishments. MSG has been included in Annex 4, table 2b, Added chemical hazards at retail, since 1999, with advice to “avoid using excessive amounts.”
Requesting that the list be expanded to reflect the ever-growing use of excitotoxic chemical hazards in food, Adrienne Samuels, Ph.D., director of the nonprofit Truth in Labeling Campaign has submitted a Citizen Petition to FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., asking that additives containing manufactured free glutamate (MfG) – the same toxic ingredient found in MSG – also be included in the Food Code’s list of Added chemical hazards.
“Monosodium glutamate is not alone in containing potentially excitotoxic (brain damaging) MfG” says Samuels. “MfG can be found in dozens of additives used in processed foods, and they should all be listed as ‘chemical hazards’ along with MSG.” A list of the ingredients that always contain MfG is kept up-to-date on the webpage of the Truth in Labeling Campaign.
This is the third petition Samuels has sent to the FDA this year. To read the others, one to strip MSG and manufactured glutamate of their GRAS (safe) status and the other to replace the FDA’s inaccurate webpage, “Questions and Answers on Monosodium Glutamate,” go to the Truth in Labeling Campaign’s website petition page here: https://www.truthinlabeling.org/petition.html
And remember, your comments at the FDA docket on these petitions matter, so be sure to tell them exactly what’s on your mind regarding these toxic additives!
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.
As more consumers become aware of the toxic effects of free glutamate Big Food is becoming even more devious
In 2015 a class action lawsuit called Dennis Peterson v. CJ Foods (or as it was more casually known, the “Annie Chun’s No MSG settlement”), reached a conclusion. CJ America Inc. ponied up $1.5 million to pay consumers who had purchased the deviously labeled “No MSG added” Annie Chun’s soup products up to $15 bucks each.
While the case was mentioned online and in some media, it seems the details got lost in translation. It was sometimes referred to as a “rebate,” or simply a chance to pocket a few dollars if you had purchased Annie Chun’s soups.
But what this case really involves is one of the most popular ongoing industry scams, one known as the “clean label.”
In the Annie Chun’s case, the company put glowing ad copy on the front label, saying: “NO MSG added” when, in fact, it contained numerous sources of manufactured free glutamate (MfG), including yeast extract, natural flavors, and soy sauce. Peterson’s complaint called that a way to “deceptively hide ‘MSG’ in food labels.”
Although CJ Foods settled the case relatively quickly — and while it didn’t admit to any wrongdoing, and apparently has since refrained from posting “No MSG” on its products — that trickery is against FDA regulations yet still alive and well, being used by numerous companies to clean up the words on their packaging so as to snag the conscientious consumer.
It’s more, however, than just a “deception.” Over 25 years ago the FDA issued this statement:
“While technically MSG is only one of several forms of free glutamate used in foods, consumers frequently use the term MSG to mean all free glutamate. For this reason, FDA considers foods whose labels say “No MSG” or “No added MSG” to be misleading if the food contains ingredients that are sources of free glutamates, such as hydrolyzed protein.”
Had the case not been settled out of court it is conceivable that the company would have been deemed in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. But that possibility doesn’t seem to bother Big Food a whole lot. Currently there are plenty of products that say “No added MSG” but contain ingredients that are sources of free glutamates.
For example, we just purchased:
Knorr (Unilever) Pasta Sides: Despite the promise of “No Added MSG” on the package front, the product contains a boatload of free glutamates, such as hydrolyzed soy protein, yeast extract and natural flavors. Knorr also adds disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate, two ingredients that work synergistically with MSG and will tip you off as to its presence.
McCormick Chicken Gravy mix
McCormick “flavor” packets: Each one we looked at claimed “No MSG Added” while loaded with a variety of ingredients containing free glutamates. The beef stew seasoning mix included soy protein and hydrolyzed corn gluten, with the Au Jus gravy packet containing hydrolyzed corn gluten, soy protein and sodium caseinate. The chicken gravy mix (pictured above) contained glutamates galore, including hydrolyzed corn gluten, yeast extract, natural flavors, soy sauce solids and disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate (which are listed as “flavor enhancers”).
College Inn (Del Monte) broths: We selected “garden vegetable,” but other types also claim “NO MSG” as well while clearly containing yeast extract and natural flavors.
Over the years litigation has attempted to stop this kind of hoax, but it’s obvious that filling processed foods with flavor-enhancing MfG is so important, so vital to industry, that it will take any chance necessary to keep the labels “clean” and the additives flowing.
ConAgra foods, for example, when legally challenged in 2014 for labeling “No MSG” on its Chef Boyardee Mac & Cheese products (when they contained free-glutamate ingredients), complained that the FDA did not give food manufacturers “fair notice” of such labeling requirements.
Well, the time for fair notice has long expired, and yet food manufacturers continue to not only mislead consumers with their packaging, but with their comments as well.
We called College Inn, Knorr and McCormick consumer information lines and were told the following:
College Inn claims it had a “campaign” to remove MSG from its products back in 2007, when they were reformulated. “MSG can’t be hidden or called something else,” they said.
McCormick has a recorded announcement saying how they “are aware of allergies and sensitivities” to various ingredients, including wheat, milk, nuts and MSG. The recording promised that such ingredients will always be declared “on our labels,” and “never hidden.”
The Knorr agent told us that they don’t have information saying MSG “is not safe,” but “additional studies are being conducted by health officials.” Oh, and that MSG isn’t used in any Knorr products.
Clearly, as more and more consumers are becoming enlightened as to the toxic nature of MSG and MfG, Big Food has chosen to become more and more deceitful. The only way to really know what you’re eating when consuming processed foods is to read the ingredient label – not the package advertising, not the nutrition facts label, but the list of actual ingredients that make up the product.
We took our questions and the falsehoods we were told to each brand’s media department for an “official” reply. When they respond we’ll update you on this evolving story.
The bottom line is that if a product states it has “No MSG,” or “No Added MSG” but it contains ingredients that contain MfG (or “free glutamates”) it is considered “false and misleading” according to the FDA, and in violation of FDA rules.
Stay tuned.
*(MfG is the potentially excitotoxic manufactured free glutamic acid found in MSG and a host of other ingredients capable of triggering what are known as MSG reactions.)
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.
With petition # FDA-2021-P-0035 filed at the FDA to strip monosodium glutamate (MSG) of its GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status, manufacturers who use MSG as their flavor-enhancer of choice might consider switching to “clean label” ingredients such as hydrolyzed proteins or any one of a number of yeasts.
Let there be no confusion. Those clean label products will contain essentially the same excitotoxic free glutamic acid as found in MSG, and will, therefore, contribute not only to the flavor of products but will cause “MSG reactions.” Monosodium glutamate won’t be on the label, but its toxic ingredient will be in those “clean label” products.
The Statement of Grounds in petition FDA-2021-P-0035 lays out the evidence that documents MSG toxicity, and gives details of the seriously flawed research that glutamate industry agents claim demonstrates that MSG is “safe.” Research that petitioner Samuels calls “flawed to the point of being fraudulent.”
PS Check back later this week to see what a “clean label” looks like.
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.
A second Citizen Petition has been filed by Adrienne Samuels, PhD., requesting that all ingredients containing MSG’s excitotoxic – brain damaging – glutamate be placed alongside MSG on the FDA’s “Added Chemical Hazards” in Food list.
Once upon a time in 1991, in anticipation of a network expose of MSG toxicity, the Wall Street Journal ran the headline, “A 60 Minutes attack on MSG would be felt throughout the $280 billion-a-year food industry.” Now, thirty years later the $280 billion-a-year food industry is the $5,943.8 billion a year food industry. Those who manufacture MSG now control the USDA, the FDA, and the major U.S. media, and no attack on MSG will likely be felt anywhere. I’d be thrilled (and amazed) if these petitions were mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, much less appeared in a Wall Street Journal headline.
Today’s story is about the campaign to shine light on the fact that manufactured free glutamate (MfG) is toxic, and to expose the fact that the FDA says it’s safe.
In January, Adrienne’s first Citizen Petition (FDA-2021-P-0035), was filed with the FDA, requesting that MSG be stripped of its GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status. Today, March 1st, a second Citizen Petition has been filed with the FDA requesting that the names of ingredients containing MfG be added to the FDA’s list of chemical hazards added to food. MSG is already on this list.
There’s no lack of information about the hazards posed by MSG and the excitotoxic glutamate found in flavor enhancers and protein substitutes. And there’s no lack of information about the falsehood-filled propaganda circulated widely by the glutamate industry or the way in which they’ve rigged the studies that they claim “prove” MSG is “safe.” Our website and blog at www.truthinlabeling.org provide access to decades of scientific research, personal experience, analyses of what glutamate industry operatives call “research,” and investigation into the effects of monosodium glutamate and similar additives.
And not least of all, with these petitions you have been given the opportunity to share with the world your experiences with MSG and your knowledge of its toxic potential. https://www.regulations.gov/document/FDA-2021-P-0035-0001 will get you to the place you want to go to tell your story.
Please address questions to questionsaboutMSG@gmail.com We love hearing from you.
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.
How old do you think I am? I used to be five foot tall, but I’m not anymore. I’ve been collecting social security for longer than some of you have been alive. I’ve been actively battling the lie that monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a harmless flavor enhancer since 1968. And in January I stepped up to the plate and filed a Citizen Petition requesting that the FDA strip MSG of its GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status.
Given the history of FDA’s close cooperation with the makers of MSG, it would seem only remotely possible that the FDA would act to provide consumers with accurate information about the toxic potential of MSG. But this is a new day in a new year and a new administration sits in the White House — and all things are possible. So, I’m looking to optimize the possibility that change will happen by contacting newspapers, contacting legislators, and asking you to take 5-10 minutes to post a comment on the Citizen Petition FDA-2021-P-0035 telling of your experience with MSG. We can make change happen. You can make change happen.
Names aren’t required. Want to stay anonymous? You can. Just leave the name field empty. Maybe when you post your comment, mention that you’re a registered voter (if you are a registered voter.)
And please, ask your friends to do the same.
P.S. When the first thousand comments have been posted, I’ll post the secret of my age on the Truth in Labeling Campaign Facebook page.
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.
It’s not what she said in the piece that’s so interesting, because it’s classic industry talk. What is interesting is the fact that Ajinomoto responded at all.
For 50+ years, the Glutes have pretty much ignored criticism from those who have maintained that MSG is toxic. It would appear that they’ve used this strategy to keep questions of glutamate sensitivity out of the media – just letting any question of harm done by MSG die a slow, quiet death. And this strategy, along with rigging the research they’ve presented to the FDA as evidence of MSG’s safety, has been incredibly effective, for this excitotoxic, brain damaging food additive is still being advertised as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA.
So why the change in strategy? Or did Tia Rains make a terrible mistake. Terrible enough to get her fired.
Reminder: Please take a moment to comment on this petition at the link below.
Go to www.Regulations.gov, and put this docket number FDA-2021-P-0035 in the search box, click “search.” There you’ll see a link to the petition and a button that says “comment.”
NOTE: If you’re commenting on Tuesday or Thursday an extra step is needed as the FDA site is being updated twice a week. On those days:
Go to www.regulations.gov and put this docket number FDA-2021-P-0035 in the search box, click “search.”
On the left side, it will say “Document Type,” check the “other” box and then click on the second document titled “Citizen petition from Adrienne Samuels” and you’ll see a “Comment” button at the top.
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.
There is power in positive thinking and Right Action. The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) just reported that because of actions taken, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can no longer claim on its website that vaccines do not cause autism.
What better incentive could we have to flood the FDA with testimony telling why we believe the FDA’s claim that MSG is harmless should be dropped from any and all of their materials.
Call to action: Comment on Citizen Petition FDA-2021-P-0035 to strip MSG of its GRAS (safe) designation.
To comment on this petition:
Go to https://www.regulations.gov and put this docket number FDA-2021-P-0035 in the search box. Click on “Search.”
Click on “Comment now.”
NOTE: If you’re commenting on Tuesday or Thursday an extra step is needed as the site is being updated twice a week. On those days:
Click on the second link titled Citizen Petition from Adrienne Samuels and you’ll see a blue tab that says “comment now.”
This is a comment from L. “Considering what we know right now, there is no reason for the FDA to label MSG as a GRAS additive. It is a toxic, brain damaging, manmade substance. For the FDA to continue to present it as a benign, GRAS ingredient benefits industry, not consumers. It’s time for the FDA to stop being a PR firm for Big Food and serve the public. This petition is an excellent way to start that process. Please give it the focus and attention it deserves.”
This is an excerpt from a comment from F. “In my case, if I sat down in the evening and consumed a large quantity of barbecue potato chips, nacho chips (two favorite snacks) or other products containing significant amounts of MSG, I would wake up the next morning with very severe vertigo that lasted 7-10 days. I was unable to function or teach my food marketing classes until I discovered that the transderm-scop patch (worn on cruises by people subject to seasickness) provided some relief. The vertigo attacks occurred about once per month. After several visits to ENT physicians who could not explain the problem or find a solution, I decided that the condition may have been caused by a food additive. I used a careful process of elimination and, over the course of several months, determined that the culprit was MSG. I completely removed MSG from my diet, as much as possible, by reading all labels and never consuming any product that contains MSG. When eating away-from-home, I always confirm that the restaurant does not use MSG in foods I purchase. I am happy to report that, as a result, I have now been free from any vertigo attacks for more than nine years.
“I suspect that the incidence of MSG sensitivity is far higher than reported, and that most people suffering the symptoms never identify the cause of their symptoms. Given that MSG is nothing more than a “flavor enhancer” and provides no real functional benefits, I cannot see how any benefits of MSG could possibly outweigh the costs (medical expenses and lost productivity), given the clearly documented sensitivities to MSG. It would be far better for the American consumer to learn to appreciate the real flavors of foods. I am gratified that some enlightened food manufacturers and retailers have been removing MSG from their products.”
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. And if you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, we’ll put them up on Facebook. You can also reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling
The FDA has been representing the interests of the glutamate industry for over 50 years, literally publishing industry’s propaganda on its official website at www.FDA.gov. They really want you to believe that MSG isn’t even “controversial,” and that it’s “safe” and “natural.”
Here’s a better way to think about it: the “G” in “MSG” stands for the excitotoxic – brain damaging – glutamate that plays a role in obesity and reproductive disorders (infertility) and causes heart irregularities such as atrial fibrillation and tachycardia, asthma, migraine headache, irritable bowel, light-headedness, mood swings, skin rash, seizures and more.
Was the FDA ever a protector of human health?
It is the FDA that 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. Thus, the FDA holds the keys to life and death for many Americans, many of whom still believe that it is the welfare of consumers, not the profits of the food and/or drug industries, that concern the FDA. A great deal of industry’s success in keeping excitotoxic amino acids hidden (unlabeled) in processed foods can be attributed to their campaign against identifying toxic substances through labeling. In the 1970s, growing numbers of consumers realized that they reacted with things like asthma, migraine headache or seizures when they consumed something that contained monosodium glutamate (MSG). But it wasn’t until 1988 when George Schwartz, M.D. published “In Bad Taste: the MSG Syndrome,” that consumers began to understand that it was the Manufactured Free Glutamate in MSG that was causing their reactions.
This fact is relevant to the FDA’s role in sustaining Ajinomoto’s push to keep the truth about the toxic effects of their product, MSG, from the public. The FDA’s failure to distinguish between the product called MSG, and the other products that contain MSG’s toxic manufactured free glutamate (MfG) has been used continuously to confuse and deceive consumers. But that’s just a pimple on the face of things that the FDA does for Ajinomoto.
In 1988, consumers were used to referring to their reactions to MfG as “MSG-reactions” even if there was no ingredient called monosodium glutamate in the offending product. And the FDA allowed manufacturers to claim “no MSG” or “no MSG added” to products that contained MfG but not MSG.
The glutamate industry, led by Ajinomoto, understood that if all MfG in all processed food was labeled, consumers would be able to determine whether or not an MfG-containing ingredient or product caused them to have irritable bowel, skin rash, migraine headache, seizures or any other adverse reaction.
Why would that be important? Because if consumers were able to identify the MfG in the things they used and food they consumed, the fact that asthma, dizziness, and/or depression, for example, always followed use of MfG use might become obvious. The glutamate industry wouldn’t like that at all. It might make it difficult to continue selling consumers—or maybe even the medical community—on the idea that MfG is harmless.
The FDA has never dealt with the toxicity of MfG. They’ve only focused on confirming the safety of Ajinomoto’s product, MSG. To that end, the FDA has cooperated with the glutamate industry at every turn. Its cooperation can be traced back to September 1969, when then FDA Commissioner Ley testified before the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Health, presenting evidence from four studies that, he alleged, demonstrated MSG was safe. It was later disclosed that two of those studies were incomplete, and two didn’t even exist.
The big picture
Overall
There have never been any meaningful regulations for identifying MSG or the amount of MSG in any product. The FDA’s refusal to identify MSG through labeling is central to the success of the glutamate industry in promoting its toxic product.
The FDA has ignored evidence of monosodium glutamate toxicity.
The first study of MSG toxicity, actually MSG-induced brain damage, was published in 1969. There was a congressional inquiry into the possible danger of using MSG in baby food, which resulted some ten years later in industry “voluntarily” removing MSG from baby food, and replacing it with other sources of MfG. The FDA took no action.
The flawed nature of Ajinomoto’s International Glutamate Technical Committee (IGTC) research was exposed in 1993 when evidence from the files of the FDA that the IGTC used aspartame in their placebos was brought to the attention of the FDA. In that year, FDA Commissioner Kessler was asked to investigate the FDA’s use of badly flawed studies in their determination that monosodium glutamate is safe. The request was ignored. (They do that a lot. Don’t deny. Don’t respond. Just ignore.)
In its 1995 report to the FDA, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) acknowledged that it was inappropriate to use aspartame in placebos used in double-blind studies of the safety of MSG and the FDA did not dispute FASEB’s conclusion. Nonetheless, the FDA still allows the unregulated use of MSG in processed food.
The FDA has ignored the fact that studies presented to it by the IGTC as evidence that MSG was a harmless food additive used MSG-containing ingredients other than monosodium glutamate as well as neurotoxic aspartic acid (found in aspartame) in their placebos. (Don’t deny. Don’t respond. Just ignore.)
The FDA cooperated with Ajinomoto in designing studies from which the industry would claim to have demonstrated that MSG was a safe food additive. Evidence to that effect exists (or existed) in the files of the FDA:A July 13, 1990 letter from IGTC chairman Ebert to Walter Glinsmann, M.D., Associate Director of Clinical Nutrition, Division of Nutrition, FDA, reads, in part “…attached are three [double-blind] protocols for your use…IGTC would be interested in your views, especially on the proposed work by Drs. Kirby and Kjos.”
A January 2, 1991 letter from IGTC chairman Ebert to Fred R. Shank, Ph.D., Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, requested a scientific review session on MSG with FDA scientists. IGTC chairman Ebert elaborated on what the IGTC wanted covered at the meeting, and offered the names of FDA personnel who should attend. “In the past, IGTC has requested meetings with FDA staff for purposes of informal reviews of MSG research. Scientists who have carried out studies on MSG, usually in university laboratories or clinics, have presented their data to agency scientists for review and discussion….If Dr. Donald Kirby, who is currently carrying out research on MSG at the Medical College of Virginia, has sufficient clinical data by the time of an FDA meeting we would propose inviting him also.”
After elaborating on what the IGTC wanted covered at the meeting, the chairman continued: “As FASEB plans a one day Hearing on Free Amino Acids on February 4, 1991, it seems advisable to complete an FDA meeting prior to that date….FDA scientists who have participated in MSG research discussion in the past included among others: Drs. Shank, Hattan and Scheuplein. Others who would be key attendants include Drs. Rulls, Lin and Bailey…Members of the IGTC/TGA Executive Committee also would plan to join the meeting.”A December 9, 1991 FDA Memorandum of Conference notes that “The IGTC requested the meeting to discuss a protocol that they are currently developing for a proposed food allergy study involving MSG. We informed the visitors that we will provide our comments only after they have submitted a written protocol to us with some detailed description of the proposed study.”
A September 4, 1992 FDA Memorandum of Conference reads: “Dr. Kimura gave me a copy of the [IGTC] request (dated 8/20/92) for a meeting with the Commissioner and a copy of the Bob MacLeod’s brief response (dated 9/3/92) to the IGTC. We both agreed that once a description of their research plan (or protocols) is given to us, a meeting will be scheduled for their scientists to discuss with our review staff regarding their research plan aimed to resolve scientific issues surrounding adverse reactions allegedly caused by monosodium glutamate consumed in food.”
On October 23, 1992, the FDA hosted a conference at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA. Present were Geha (Harvard Medical School), Saxon (UCLA Medical School), Patterson (Northwestern University Medical School), Ebert, (Chairman IGTC), Yoshi-hisa Sugita (IGTC), Takeshi Kimura (IGTC); and Hattan, Tollefson, Glinsmann, Bailey, and Lin of the FDA. Protocols for the Geha, Saxon, Patterson study called for use of aspartame in placebos, as had all other double-blind studies receiving FDA approval.
The FDA has suppressed information pertaining to the toxic potential of MSG.
In 1992, the FASEB study on the safety of amino acids in dietary supplements had warned about the use of MSG in them. That information was never shared with the public.
As early as 1990, the FDA became aware that MSG produced through acid hydrolysis of proteins contains carcinogenic mono and dichloro propanols. That information has never been shared with the public.
MSG produced through acid hydrolysis of proteins contains carcinogenic mono and dichloro propanols. If enzymes were used to produce hydrolyzed proteins, this wouldn’t be the case, but since using enzymes is more costly than using acid, most of the hydrolyzed protein products found on grocers’ shelves contribute to the development of cancer. The FDA has been thinking about sharing that information with the public since 1990.
In 1992, the FDA commissioned FASEB to do an independent review of research on the safety (never toxicity) of monosodium glutamate in food. The FDA has admitted, in reports of adverse reactions on file at the FDA, that headache (they don’t call it migraine headache) has been reported as an adverse reaction by over 43 per cent of the people reporting reactions to monosodium glutamate. With possible rare exception, monosodium glutamate is acknowledged as a migraine headache trigger by every headache clinic in this country.
In 1991, Alfred Scopp published a study entitled “Monosodium glutamate and hydrolyzed vegetable protein induced headache: review and case studies”. But neither Scopp’s study nor the subject of migraine headache are discussed in the August 31,1995 FASEB report.
In FASEB’s “independent” study, questions were posed by the FDA to which FASEB responded. FASEB ignored all others. Panel members suffered from conflicts of interests; failed to consider all data relevant to the safety/toxicity of monosodium glutamate; dismissed, or attempted to dismiss, data that did not fit well with a conclusion that monosodium glutamate is safe. The FDA rejected FASEB’s September, 1994 final draft report (of the allegedly independent investigation); shared the contents of that September, 1994 final draft report with agents of the glutamate industry–but no one else; and made the final FASEB report available to glutamate industry agents–but to no one else–prior to distribution. Requests to FASEB, to the FDA’s Dr. David Hattan, and to Freedom of Information for copies of the report have been ignored.
The FDA has actively promoted the safety of MSG
The FDA has published and distributed material attesting to the safety of monosodium glutamate in the FDA Medical Bulletin and more in the FDA Backgrounder.
The FDA reinforces the misinformation put out by the glutamate industry, distortions of fact like, “The glutamic acid in monosodium glutamate is identical to the glutamic acid in whole protein.”
The FDA tells people that the free glutamic acid in processed food is identical to the free glutamic acid found in unprocessed food and in higher organisms, without reference to the fact that the free glutamic acid in processed food is invariably accompanied by impurities.
The FDA-sponsored investigations into the safety of monosodium glutamate have always been rigged. Material reviewed by FDA reviewers has been limited largely to industry-produced studies, with just enough independent research for investigators to point to and say “we’ve looked at that.” Moreover, the reviewers themselves have had industry affiliations.
When the glutamate industry wasn’t satisfied with the outcome of an FDA investigation, the final report of that investigation would be rewritten. That was obvious of the 1978 FASEB report rewritten and republished in 1980, and in the 1994 FASEB report rewritten and published in 1995.
The FDA has done original research for the benefit of the glutamate industry.
We knew that in all of this, the FDA parrots the words of Ajinomoto’s The Glutamate Association, the IGTC, and whatever other front groups they have established. (Since IGTC Chairman Ebert was exposed for overseeing double-blind studies using excitotoxic aspartic acid (in aspartame) in placebos used in MSG-safety studies, the IGTC is rarely spoken of by Ajinomoto.)
Bits and pieces of FDA/industry collusion
The FDA has allowed “monosodium glutamate” to be given as an illustration of a common safe food:
“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, sugar, vinegar, baking powder, and monosodium glutamate as safe for their intended use.” (CFR 21 582.1)
The FDA has acknowledged that to advertise products as “No MSG,” “No Added MSG,” or “No MSG Added” when they contain ingredients that are sources of free glutamic acid such as hydrolyzed protein, was in direct violation of Section 403(a)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Yet, the FDA has allowed the words “No added MSG” and “No MSG added” to be used, illegally, on labels of foods that contain MSG.
The FDA Adverse Reactions Monitoring System (ARMS) established to record reports of adverse reactions to sulfites, aspartame, and MSG never solicited information on MSG or aspartame. The FDA disbanded the ARMS when the lawsuit against the FDA was settled, and the need to pretend it was interested in the toxic potential of MSG and aspartame lessened. At the time, the statement was made that everyone knew that MSG and aspartame were harmless, and there was no sense in keeping reports of reactions.When legislators receive inquiries or calls for help from constituents, they are forwarded to the FDA which, in turn, assures both legislator and constituent that there is no cause for concern.
On the rare occasion that the FDA acknowledged the question of MSG’s safety, evidence of possible MSG toxicity would be submitted to representatives of the glutamate industry for evaluation, in order to allow them to confirm its safety.
When the FDA/HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was petitioned to investigate the charge that the behavior of the FDA was inappropriate, the OIG turned the investigation over to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), thereby guaranteeing that the petition would be killed. The ORI oversees and directs many Public Health Service research integrity activities on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, but does not oversee regulatory research integrity activities of the FDA. Therefore, under no circumstances would the ORI have jurisdiction in this matter.
In May, 1992, the Journal of Dental Hygiene cited the FDA’s David Hattan as saying “The FDA’s findings were based on the scientific studies provided by the Glutamate Association. The work has been supported by people with an interest in glutamate: consortiums and manufacturers.” Earlier Hattan had told a toxicology forum in Aspen Colorado that glutamic acid was implicated in a number of disease conditions. According to Hattan, “‘developing data on exogenous and endogenous excitogens or excitotoxins has been the primary spur to the Food and Drug Administration’s review of monosodium glutamate.” Hattan was central to the debate on the safety/toxicity of MSG, being Deputy Director for the Division of Toxicological Review and Evaluation, at the FDA, and the FDA liaison to FASEB relative to the 1995 FASEB analysis of adverse reactions to monosodium glutamate (MSG). Yet there is no evidence that Hattan raised any question about the propriety of the research being submitted to the FDA by the IGTC as evidence that MSG is safe.
Minutes of FDA meetings with consumers were changed when it served the purposes of the glutamate industry.
Medical evaluations of MSG-sensitive people were altered by the FDA.
In 1992 the FDA chose Ajinomoto’s International Glutamate Technical Committee (IGTC) Chairman Andrew G. Ebert and Kristin McNutt another IGTC operative, to serve as consumer advocates on its Food Advisory Committee.
The FDA refused to be discovered when sued over its failure to require identification of MSG through labeling. When challenged in a suit over full and clear labeling of MSG, the Court considered nothing but the Administrative Record presented by the FDA. Studies that demonstrated the 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, 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.”
When FDA Dockets Management copied material that the Truth in Labeling Campaign requested they made extra copies, which we suspected were being sent to those who wanted to know what we were up to.
The FDA approves the use of glutamate-blocking pharmaceuticals while encouraging industry to pour processed free glutamate into processed food.
The FDA refuses to provide consumers with lists of ingredients that contain MfG.
The FDA allows the term “natural” to be used in reference to excitatory amino acids.
The FDA allows the glutamate industry to create and use sources of MfG that contain carcinogenic mono and dichloro propanols and heterocyclic amines.
Confirmation of FDA/industry cooperation will be found in the files of the FDA.
A look at the future
It had been suggested that with the Obama administration, care might be taken to turn the FDA back to its original charge of guaranteeing the safety of both food and drugs. But with the appointment of Michael R. Taylor, former partner in the law firm of King & Spalding, and former vice president for public policy of Monsanto Company, to Obama’s transition team and from there to the post of FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods, all hope for a return to concern for consumers disappeared. Michael Taylor is a cousin (maybe second cousin) of Tipper Gore, the wife or former wife of Al Gore, vice president under President William Clinton. The work experience he brings to his most recent job at the FDA comes from years of dedicated service to Monsanto.
Michael Taylor is the man from President Clinton’s FDA who oversaw FDA approval of rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), and thereby subjected citizens of this country, and many others, to increased risk of breast, prostate, and colon cancer. rBGH is a genetically engineered, potent variant of the natural growth hormone produced by cows. Its use forces cows to increase their milk production by about 10%, makes cows sick, and facilitates the production of milk that’s chemically and nutritionally different than natural milk.
Michael Taylor has additional glutamate industry credits. He was instrumental in securing FDA approval of aspartame.
MSG-sensitive people may remember Michael Taylor from his November 3, 1991 performance on “60 Minutes,” where he represented the interests of the FDA and Ajinomoto (close friend of Monsanto) by answering Mike Wallace’s questions. All Taylor would say was that the FDA was looking into labeling. The FDA doesn’t even pretend to do that anymore.
On January 14, 2010, Lyndsey Layton wrote an article on Michael Taylor for the Washington Post. It was an excellent article, covering every aspect of his professional career, and included the following information: “Taylor is a familiar figure at the FDA. He began his career as a staff attorney at the agency in 1976. Then he worked for a decade at King & Spaulding, which represented Monsanto Corp., the agribusiness giant that developed genetically engineered corn, soybeans and bovine growth hormone.
“He returned to the FDA in 1991 as deputy commissioner for policy and pushed through requirements that producers of seafood and juices adopt measures to prevent bacterial contamination. During the same period, the FDA approved Monsanto’s bovine growth hormone, and Taylor was partly responsible for a controversial policy that said milk from BGHtreated cows did not have to be labeled as such.
“In 1994, Taylor went to the U.S. Agriculture Department to run its food safety program. He required meat and poultry producers to take measures to prevent bacterial contamination, despite strong opposition from those industries. Observers expect Taylor to impose those same kinds of preventive controls on all the foods regulated by the FDA.
“After the USDA, Taylor went to work for Monsanto as a vice president for public policy. He moved on to a think tank and then a teaching stint at George Washington University.”
“He is the quintessential revolving door,’ said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. Taylor’s support for BGH and Monsanto’s other genetically modified products at the FDA was ‘questionable,’ she said. ‘On the other hand, when he went to USDA, what he did there was absolutely heroic. He’s been very strong on food safety.”
You might notice that the measures Michael Taylor took at the USDA to promote food safety didn’t negatively impact Monsanto. Similarly, nothing acted on by Taylor as FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods impacted Monsanto negatively. In cases other than those where the negative role of big business is so gross as to be undeniable, regulation will be aimed at small, generally independent, businesses.
At the FDA, protecting the American public from toxic additives intentionally added to processed food won’t be considered. Enforcing regulations prohibiting deceptive and misleading labeling, such as claims that there’s no MSG added to products that contain it, is something that will never happen.
The FDA holds incredible power. It is considered an expert in the areas of food, drug, and cosmetic safety by all branches of government; so in any argument over matters of science, the word of the FDA will, with rare exception, be the final word. In addition, the files of the FDA are privileged. Under the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, the FDA need disclose to the public, or the Courts, only that information which is part of the Administrative Record for the matter in question; and it is the FDA that determines what the Administrative record for any question shall be.
It doesn’t matter who is US president, or even FDA Director. The industry rule of the FDA is expressed in every agent. It’s a secure job as long as you don’t disturb either food or drug industry giants. Some look forward to taking a pension after 20 years of service and moving through the revolving door into industry – and whistle-blowers are punished.
The FDA is “a lap dog, not a watch dog.” And neither the president nor the Congress ever walks the dog.
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. And if you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, we’ll put them up on Facebook. You can also reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling
