Here’s how YOU can make change happen!

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.

To comment, simply go to https://www.regulations.gov/document/FDA-2021-P-0035-0001 and click on the “comment” button at the top left.

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.

Adrienne

Don’t forget: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FDA-2021-P-0035-0001 and click on the “comment” button at the top left.


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.

Enough to get her fired?

In January Food Navigator-USA ran the story “Ajinomoto defends MSG as nonprofit petitions FDA to rescind its GRAS status.” And Ajinomoto’s Tia Rains fired back with a classic piece of glutamate-industry propaganda.

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.