When a popular grocery chain says they\u2019re offering an entire line of products that contain no monosodium glutamate (MSG), if you\u2019re serious about searching out quality food, you have to sit up and take notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trader Joes offers what they call Joe\u2019s Brand, a line of private label products with<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGreat quality fare for exceptional everyday prices,\u201d is how these products are marketed. So, we thought we\u2019d check out how they deal with MSG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo artificial flavors\u201d is easy, it means the product will contain no artificial flavors. But MSG poses a problem because when Trader Joe\u2019s advertises \u201cNO MSG\u201d the average shopper will think that means the food won\u2019t cause MSG-type reactions. And that simply is not true.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t true because there are more than 60 ingredients besides the one named MSG that contain the one component of MSG \u2013 free glutamate — that actually causes what we call MSG-reactions. And those ingredients all have different names https:\/\/www.truthinlabeling.org\/names.html<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Casual conversation with shoppers, has made us aware that the NO MSG claim has given a false sense of security to health-conscious people who want to avoid MSG but do not yet understand that the toxic component of MSG (the manufactured free glutamate) will be found in 60+ ingredients in addition to the one named MSG. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From a purely business standpoint, it may be for good reason that Trader Joe\u2019s includes MSG in its list of banned ingredients in its private-label products. For health-conscious people, failure to ignore the toxic effects of MSG would surely ruin Trader Joe\u2019s health-conscious image.\u00a0 But they\u2019re not concerned enough to share a list of ingredients that contain excitotoxic free glutamate (http:\/\/truthinlabeling.org\/blog\/2023\/05\/18\/names-of-ingredients-that-contain-free-glutamate\/<\/a>) with their readers.\u00a0 (It has been offered.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that all of the ingredients Trader Joe\u2019s bans from its branded products are FDA approved. That doesn\u2019t say much for the FDA now does it?<\/p>\n