If the ‘dose makes the poison’ there’s more than enough MSG and MSG-aliases in processed food to cause brain damage as well as serious observable reactions

There’s more than enough excitotoxic glutamic acid (a.k.a. free glutamate) in processed foods to create the excesses needed to cause brain damage, obesity, reproductive dysfunction, migraine headache, heart irregularities, irritable bowel, nausea and vomiting, asthma, seizures and more. In fact, excitotoxic glutamate has been known to trigger all the reactions listed as side effects of prescription drugs.

It hasn’t always been that way.

Prior to 1957, free glutamate available to people in the U.S. came largely from use of a product called Accent, which is pure MSG marketed as a flavor enhancer. In 1957, however, Ajinomoto’s method of glutamate production changed from extraction from a protein source (a slow and costly method), to a technique of bacterial fermentation wherein carefully selected genetically modified bacteria secreted glutamate through their cell walls — which enabled virtually unlimited production of MSG, allowing Ajinomoto to market its product aggressively.

It wasn’t long before Big Food discovered that increased profits could be generated by liberally using flavor enhancers (which all contain free glutamate) in every processed food product imaginable. And over the next two decades, the marketplace became flooded with manufactured/processed free-glutamate added to processed foods in ingredients such as hydrolyzed proteins, yeast extracts, maltodextrin, soy protein isolate, and MSG.

Today, more free glutamate than ever before will be found in ingredients used in processed and ultra-processed foods, snacks, and protein-fortified foods, protein drinks and shakes, and protein bars. And hydrolyzed proteins such as pea protein powder and mung bean protein isolate contain all three excitotoxic (brain-damaging) amino acids: aspartic acid (as in aspartame) and L-cysteine (used in dough conditioners), as well as glutamic acid. On top of that, excitotoxins marketed as “protein” sources have become increasingly available and extremely popular.

Recently we have seen excitotoxic amino acids in products such as Real Egg (mung bean protein isolate, the enzyme transglutaminase, and natural flavors), the Impossible Burger (textured wheat protein, potato protein, natural flavors, yeast extract, and soy protein isolate), Beyond Meat Beast Burger (pea protein isolate, natural flavoring, yeast extract, and maltodextrin), and the Lightlife Burger (water, pea protein, expeller pressed canola oil, modified corn starch, modified cellulose, yeast extract, virgin coconut oil, sea salt, natural flavor, beet powder (color), ascorbic acid (to promote color retention), onion extract, onion powder garlic powder) as well as excitotoxins added to an increasing array of ultra-processed foods. Most ultra-processed foods are made exclusively of chemicals and poor-quality ingredients to which glutamate-containing flavor enhancers have been added.

Prior to the time that Ajinomoto reformulated its method of MSG production (now over 60 years ago), accumulating excesses of glutamate through food sufficient to turn it excitotoxic would have been nearly impossible. But in the decades that followed Ajinomoto’s reformulation of MSG, obesity and infertility escalated to epidemic proportions.

The names of ingredients that contain manufactured free glutamate (MfG) can be found at this link.

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. 

‘Smartphone’ labeling of genetically modified foods ruled unlawful!

In a stunning victory against the USDA’s sneaky approach to the labeling of genetically modified foods, a U.S. district court in California has ruled that labeling such foods with a QR code is “unlawful,” and additional disclosure options must be added.

The case, filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) in 2020, was preceded by a two-decade effort by CFS to achieve labeling in the United States that clearly informs consumers as to the presence of genetically modified foods and ingredients – something already required in over 60 countries around the world.

The QR code, which must be read with a device (such as a smartphone) was the culmination of years of devious proposals on how to best confuse shoppers as to the presence of GMO’s in the supermarket. In 2018 the USDA attempted to push a smiley face icon or one with the letters “BE” coming out of the sun.

Alan Lewis, VP of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs for Natural Grocers, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit calls the victory a “win for the American family” who can now “make fully informed shopping decisions” without using “detective work to understand what food labels are hiding.”

For more on the case and decision, read this article at Moms Across America, a true grassroots organization that has been in the forefront of fighting for meaningful labeling laws. Moms Founder Zen Honeycutt says this about the court ruling: “Holy Mackerel and HALLELUYAH!”

MSG isn’t natural

Watch for it.

Over the course of the next few blogs the Truth in Labeling Campaign will be unveiling the Seven Lines of Evidence that lead inevitably to the conclusion that manufactured free glutamate (MfG), such as that found in hydrolyzed proteins and monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a well-disguised poison – a poison that may very well be hidden in your own pantry.

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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.