{"id":1496,"date":"2021-03-14T16:44:43","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T16:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/?p=1496"},"modified":"2021-03-14T16:44:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T16:44:46","slug":"beware-of-the-no-added-msg-label","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/14\/beware-of-the-no-added-msg-label\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware of the \u201cNo added MSG\u201d label"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


As more consumers become aware of the toxic effects of free glutamate Big Food is becoming even more devious<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015 a class action lawsuit called Dennis Peterson v. CJ Foods (or as it was more casually known, the \u201cAnnie Chun\u2019s No MSG settlement\u201d), reached a conclusion. CJ America Inc. ponied up $1.5 million to pay consumers who had purchased the deviously labeled \u201cNo MSG added\u201d Annie Chun\u2019s soup products up to $15 bucks each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201crebate,\u201d or simply a chance to pocket a few dollars if you had purchased Annie Chun\u2019s soups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what this case really involves is one of the most popular ongoing industry scams, one known as the \u201cclean label.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Annie Chun\u2019s case, the company put glowing ad copy on the front label, saying: \u201cNO MSG added\u201d when, in fact, it contained numerous sources of manufactured free glutamate (MfG)<\/a>,<\/em> including yeast extract, natural flavors, and soy sauce. Peterson\u2019s complaint called that a way to \u201cdeceptively hide \u2018MSG\u2019 in food labels.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although CJ Foods settled the case relatively quickly (and while it didn\u2019t admit to any wrongdoing, and apparently has since refrained from posting \u201cNo MSG\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s more, however, than just a \u201cdeception.\u201d Over 25 years ago the FDA issued this statement: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile 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 \u201cNo MSG\u201d or \u201cNo added MSG\u201d to be misleading if the food contains ingredients that are sources of free glutamates, such as hydrolyzed protein.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019t seem to bother Big Food a whole lot. Currently there are plenty of products that say \u201cNo added MSG\u201d but contain ingredients that are sources of free glutamates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, we just purchased: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knorr (Unilever) Pasta Sides: <\/strong>Despite the promise of \u201cNo Added MSG\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
McCormick chicken gravy mix.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McCormick \u201cflavor\u201d packets:<\/strong> Each one we looked at claimed \u201cNo MSG Added\u201d 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 \u201cflavor enhancers\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College Inn (Del Monte) broths:<\/strong> We selected \u201cgarden vegetable,\u201d but other types also claim \u201cNO MSG\u201d as well while clearly containing yeast extract and natural flavors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years litigation has attempted to stop this kind of hoax, but it\u2019s 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 \u201cclean\u201d and the additives flowing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ConAgra foods, for example, when legally challenged in 2014 for labeling \u201cNo MSG\u201d on its Chef Boyardee Mac & Cheese products (when they contained free-glutamate ingredients), complained that the FDA did not give food manufacturers \u201cfair notice\u201d of such labeling requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We called College Inn, Knorr and McCormick consumer information lines and were told the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

College Inn claims it had a \u201ccampaign\u201d to remove MSG from its products back in 2007, when they were reformulated. \u201cMSG can\u2019t be hidden or called something else,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCormick has a recorded announcement saying how they \u201care aware of allergies and sensitivities\u201d to various ingredients, including wheat, milk, nuts and MSG. The recording promised that such ingredients will always be declared \u201con our labels,\u201d and \u201cnever hidden.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Knorr agent told us that they don\u2019t have information saying MSG \u201cis not safe,\u201d but \u201cadditional studies are being conducted by health officials.\u201d Oh, and that MSG isn\u2019t used in any Knorr products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019re eating when consuming processed foods is to read the ingredient label \u2013 not the package advertising, not the nutrition facts label, but the list of actual ingredients that make up the product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took our questions and the falsehoods we were told to each brand\u2019s media department for an \u201cofficial\u201d reply. When they respond we\u2019ll update you on this evolving story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line is that if a product states it has \u201cNo MSG,\u201d or \u201cNo Added MSG\u201d but it contains ingredients that contain MfG (or \u201cfree glutamates\u201d) it is considered \u201cfalse and misleading\u201d according to the FDA, and in violation of FDA rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay tuned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(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.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n


If you have questions or comments, we\u2019d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we\u2019ll put them up on\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/em><\/a>. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on\u00a0<\/em>Twitter @truthlabeling<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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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 \u201cAnnie Chun\u2019s No MSG settlement\u201d), reached a conclusion. CJ America Inc. ponied up $1.5 million to … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Beware of the \u201cNo added MSG\u201d label”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[280,282,281,25,4,24],"class_list":["post-1496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-collegeinn","tag-knorr","tag-mccormick","tag-monosodiumglutamate","tag-msg","tag-truthinlabelingcampaign"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1496"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1501,"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1496\/revisions\/1501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}