MSG: Black Sheep of the Spice Rack No Longer

"NO M.S.G." says the marquee above a student's cafeteria on Hsuchou Road next to the National Taiwan University Medical Center. This motto rides the popular tide of "health consciousness." Restaurants that tout the absence of MSG in their cuisine can be seen fairly often throughout the streets of Taipei. Inside dining establishments, as well, more and more customers send a message to the kitchen when ordering their food: "Please don't put in any MSG!"

Information from the Taiwan Monosodium Glutamate Manufacturers Association reveals that domestic sales of MSG have declined every year since 1989. Nevertheless, domestic production of MSG last year equaled 100,000 metric tons, placing the ROC in the top ranks of MSG consumers, along with Indonesia, Japan and Korea. (In 1990 and 1991, the ROC led the world in MSG exports.) But in the past five or six years, domestic sales only accounted for between 1/3 and 1/4 of total production. Moreover, the amount used in "industry" (in restaurants and factories) increased to as high as 70% and has shown so signs of decreasing, but home use has gradually fallen off, now approximating only 30% of ROC consumption (see chart).

Up to now, MSG has been considered the holy sacrament of Chinese cookery. Lai Lai Sheraton Hotel Taipei's Executive Chef Chang Hwa-Chou explains that MSG has been called the "old master." When a dish is completed, "bringing out the old master" is virtually a basic procedure. Starting as apprentices, everyone learns to do it by example. "Some chefs even feel that Chinese food has so style or flavor without MSG," he says.

In Chinese food, so particular about nuances of flavor, MSG is certainly a treasure in the kitchen, for it can increase the sweetness of edibles. Western patrons sometimes experience discomfort after eating Chinese food, and often they blame MSG, even christening the experience with the title "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome."

The so-called "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" refers to reactions to eating Chinese food, such as thirst, a flushed face, palpitations and headaches.

In reality Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, vaunted by Westerners, is a rather vague phenomenon. Chang Yue-chi, director of the department of nutrition at Taipei's Veterans General Hospital, points out that thirst, headaches and heart palpitations are rather subjective, and they do not happen to everyone.

"All the incidents when Westerners feel uncomfortable after eating Chinese food are lumped together as a 'syndrome.' Before we delve into what produces these symptoms, we should first ask whether it is caused by differences in eating habits," says Chang Yue-chi. "For example, it may be because Chinese food is more oily than some are used to. Perhaps instead of eating rice some people only drink soup, and maybe there is extra MSG in the soup, which causes a stronger reaction. Or perhaps the Chinese food just tastes too delicious, and some folks overeat."

Furthermore, some Western people prepare food with "essence of chicken," whose ingredients are similar to MSG. And the Japanese have about as much occasion to use MSG as the Chinese. The annual consumption of MSG in Japan reaches 90,000 metric tons. If these reported reactions are completely the havoc wreaked by MSG, why has no one coined a term such as, "Steak House Affliction" or "Sushi Bar Syndrome"?

On the other hand, although CRS can not be directly linked to MSG, that does not mean that Chinese food and MSG are entirely unrelated. In fact, many Westerners directly equate MSG with Chinese food, the reason being that there actually often is a goodly amount of MSG in Chinese food.

Information from the Taiwan Monosodium Glutamate Manufacturers Association indicates that last year the average daily intake per person in the ROC was 4.07 g, much higher than the 0.5-l.0 g daily per capita intake in the United States.

The reality is that many Chinese people feel ill at ease about the commonly high level of MSG consumption. Besides the problem of CRS, the most common rumors in Taiwan are that MSG causes hair to fall out, and that MSG can cause cancer.

Vedan Enterprises General Manager Yang Jeng feels quite upset at such charges. "If Pao Ching-tien were alive today, we would have long ago gone to plead our case to him," he laughingly emphasizes. He states that in the past 40 years in which Vedan Enterprises has produced MSG, every year they have given the product as gifts to their employees. To this day he has never heard of a single employee going bald due to eating MSG.

According to an analysis of the ingredients of MSG, Yang Jeng's claims are probably right. MSG's proper chemical nomenclature is monosodium glutamate. It is formed from the combination of glutamic acid (a kind of amino acid) and sodium. Glutamic acid is a major component of protein, found in many common foods, such as tomatoes, sugar beets, mushrooms and cheese. The human body also naturally produces it.

In 1908, the Japanese biologist Kikunae Ikeda extracted free glutamic acid from seaweed. When added to sodium hydroxide, it crystallized into MSG. More than forty years later, MSG's presence is witnessed throughout the whole earth. It is commonly used among oriental peoples like the Chinese and Japanese, but it is also frequently used in Western countries, such as England and America, where it is added to canned food, soup, etc.

Nonetheless, scientists have consistently maintained a dubious attitude toward the effects of MSG.

Tung Ta-cheng, M.D., professor at the Taipei Medical College, points out that in 1969 the American scientist J.W. Olney performed experiments on new-born mice, injecting them with 0.2 grams of glutamic acid (the basic component of MSG) per day. Results indicated that the mice became plump and their brain tissues developed pathological changes, portending a terminal condition. When the experiment's results were published, the world was aghast.

The MSG industry, which was burgeoning at the time, felt a heavy impact. The World Monosodium Glutamate Manufacturers Association was unwilling to accept this turn of events and commissioned further research. Results of the association's investigation indicated that when tested upon the bodies of primates, such as monkeys, MSG did not produce the same pathological changes in the brain. "I presume that primates' brains develop in the womb over a relatively longer period of time, and the structure of their brains is more complex and therefore capable of constructing screening mechanisms in the bloodstream. Physically harmful elements are not allowed to pass from the blood into the brain," explains Dr. Tung Ta-cheng.

Tung Ta-cheng believes, judging from test results, that MSG is safe. "In the first place, Olney's experiments took place under extremely special conditions. Most people wouldn't think of injecting MSG like that. Furthermore, if the amino acids in the human body become excessive, the human body system, including that of infants, has a natural metabolic ability. For instance, glucose is usually purged in an hour or an hour and a half. What harm can that do to people?" poses Tung.

The suspicions that people hold toward MSG have by no means disappeared. Tung Ta-cheng emphasizes that early on the process of manufacturing MSG evoked much concern, because it involved chemical methods, applying both acid and alkaline during the process of decomposing protein. In 1960 a bacterial fermentation process was invented in the United States, and ever since then this method has increasingly been used, partly because it reduces cost and partly because most people have a greater faith in organic technology.

In January of this year an article in the British journal New Scientist revealed that according to the research of two Australian scientists, MSG is "innocent." For a long time MSG has been a "scapegoat." It is very possible that the real cause of Chinese Restaurant Syndrome may be compounds called histamines which are present in the ingredients and seasonings of Chinese food, such as shrimp paste, black beans and soy sauce. Moreover, many preservatives, desiccants or artificial additives may also precipitate a reaction similar to CRS.

Tung Ta-cheng believes that this report is still dot a complete exoneration of MSG, and it was a little late in forthcoming. Nevertheless, its consequences could mean that MSG has "established its position," and many Chinese people feel that "Westerners have finally spoken sincerely."

From the point of view of scientific research, perhaps the injustices carried out against MSG have already been redressed, but those who cook with MSG and eat it still ought to exercise restraint.

Chinese people like to add MSG after a dish has already been cooked, although sometimes a more impatient cook may throw some MSG into the wok while the food is still sizzling. Many biologists believe that MSG, when exposed to temperatures over 100 or cooked in high temperatures for a long time, may metamorphose into a different compound: sodium pyro-lidin carboxylate, a substance worthy of some attention.

Does sodium pyro-lidin carboxylate have any ill effects? Tung Ta-cheng feels that it threatens no harm to the human condition; however, it possesses none of MSG's powers to enhance the flavor of food and is therefore perfectly useless. A number of scholars, conversely, believe that sodium pyrolidin carboxylate is a harmful substance, and that it is not beneficial to eat too much of it. The two sides of the debate have yet to reach a conclusion. For this reason, many experts suggest that when cooking, the best time to add MSG is after the dish has been removed from the wok. According to the World Monosodium Glutamate Manufacturers Association's recommendation, MSG is most effective in enhancing flavor when it accounts for 0.2-0.8% of total food weight, whether it is added to soup, meat, vegetables or canned goods. One should also not eat too much MSG. The average daily absorption of MSG should be approximately 0.15 grams for every kilogram of body weight. For example, a person weighing 50 kg should optimally consume no more than 7.5 grams of MSG.

Despite the evidence of scientific research that glutamic acid, MSG's principal ingredient, has no noticeable effect on the human body, the sodium tons in MSG are absolutely unhealthy.

According to research, the daily required dosage of sodium is a minuscule 0.5 to 0.8 grams per day. (An ordinary teaspoon of MSG contains about 0.4 grams.) With such a small requirement, the sodium that the human body naturally absorbs from ordinary food is already sufficient. We have no need for MSG to replenish our sodium supplies.

This is the point that most nutrition experts in Taiwan emphasize when cautioning their compatriots not to eat too much MSG. Chang Yue-chi observes that between 1/5 and 1/4 of all people in Taiwan over the age of 40 are at risk from high blood pressure and most certainly need to avoid absorbing sodium in their food.

MSG contains one fifth the amount of sodium as table salt. But be careful! Salt has a noticeably salty flavor, and people can easily detect its presence and take precautions; MSG does not taste salty, and its presence can easily be ignored.

From the viewpoint of nutrition, Chang Yue-chi does not encourage people to eat MSG, no matter how little effect glutamic acid has or how little sodium it contains.

MSG was invented in 1908 and introduced to Taiwan around the end of the Japanese occupation. Only in the 1960s and 1970s did it become widely popular. "Before that time, people never cooked with MSG. It hasn't been around for many years," says Chang Yue-chi. Those in the industry often say that MSG is synonymous with the culinary customs of the Chinese people, but actually this is due to product promotion and advertising.

She believes that MSG's principal ingredient, glutamic acid, is not irreplaceable. "The human body can automatically produce this compound or naturally absorb it from fruits and vegetables. That is sufficient," she says. It is more intelligent to keep MSG, like table salt, at arm's length.

The question that remains is does a person want to cook up delicious dishes? In Tung Ta-cheng's opinion, not using MSG is, naturally, acceptable. "But MSG makes food taste better, so why refuse to use it? Having a pure heart, free of all desire, is a good life, of course, but I prefer to leave that up to the Buddhist monks," he says with a laugh.

Chang Yue-chi observes: "The problem that people in Taiwan face isn't a lack flavor in their food; the problem is that they have too much flavor." She says that everyone loves food too much. When people overeat, they become fat, and the rate of cerebrovascular disease increases. It is self-inflicted misery.

General Manager John Fu of the Taiwan Monosodium Glutamate Manufacturers Association remarks that in Taiwan MSG could hardly be described as a waning industry; nevertheless, the market has already been saturated. Currently, the MSG industry emphasizes international sales. Southeast Asia and Africa are the principal target areas. Vedan Enterprises Group Vice President Kao Wen-tsan makes no pretences about the fact that sales to Africa and other areas are aimed at "using MSG as a condiment."

The MSG crystals that are destined for sale in Africa are much larger, longer and thicker than the MSG people in the ROC are accustomed to seeing. If people from Taiwan caught sight of such bulky crystals, they would probably give a start in amazement. Rumor has it that many Africans put MSG on the dinner table like salt and pepper, sprinkling it on the food on their plates. They even derive a hearty satisfaction from the MSG's snapping and crackling in their mouths as they chew.

Taiwan's residents are gradually decreasing their consumption of MSG. Perhaps Africa will become the MSG industry's "new frontier."

[Picture Caption]

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"NO M.S.G." is this restaurant's fashion statement, riding the popular tide of "health consciousness."

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The Republic of China on Taiwan consumes 3000 metric tons of MSG a month . Much of this is expended in catered banquets and other such events.

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Africa is the "new frontier" for MSG sales. The crystals of MSG sold there are much larger and coarser than those used for cooking in Taiwan.

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Taiwan Area MSG Production and Sales Estimates

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Many cafeterias and small eateries add an excess of MSG to ensure the tastiness of the dishes. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)

p.113

Instant packaged noodles rely largely upon salt, MSG and other seasonings. According to previous product comparison analyses by the Consumers' Foundation, some instant packaged goods contain as much as 7.5 grams of MSG.

p.113

Today MSG is very inexpensive, and the former custom of giving it as a gift has become a rare sight. Nonetheless, MSG is still given as an offering at funerals and similar occasions.

The Republic of China on Taiwan consumes 3000 metric tons of MSG a month . Much of this is expended in catered banquets and other such events.

Africa is the "new frontier" for MSG sales. The crystals of MSG sold there are much larger and coarser than those used for cooking in Taiwan.

Taiwan Area MSG Production and Sales Estimates.

Many cafeterias and small eateries add an excess of MSG to ensure the tastiness of the dishes. （photo by Pu Hua-chih）

Instant packaged noodles rely largely upon salt, MSG and other seasonings. According to previous product comparison analyses by the Consumers' Foundation, some instant packaged goods contain as much as 7.5 grams of MSG.

Today MSG is very inexpensive, and the former custom of giving it as a gift has become a rare sight. Nonetheless, MSG is still given as an offering at funerals and similar occasions.