Highlights MSG is a naturally occurring compound found in many foods; it’s also one of the world’s most popular flavor-enhancing food additives. There’s a strong stigma that MSG is bad for ...

This discovery led to the commercial production of MSG as a flavor enhancer, designed to amplify the umami or savory taste in foods. Since then, it has become a staple ingredient in cuisines ...

Monosodium glutamate (more commonly known as MSG) has had a bad rap since the 1960s. Even now, six decades later, many people avoid foods that contain it—even without knowing exactly what MSG is.

The stigma around MSG began in 1968, when a doctor published a letter in The New England Journal of Medicine, complaining of weakness, numbness, and racing heart after having Chinese food.

COLUMBIA — Monosodium glutamate, known as MSG, is a savory ingredient — with a history of unsavory treatment. Discovered and popularized across East Asia, but now an internationally recognized ...

What is MSG? Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is a common food additive that enhances the savory taste in foods. MSG is a compound formed by sodium and glutamate (or glutamic acid), a naturally occurring ...

National health organizations and experts agree that MSG is safe to consume as part of a balanced diet. The FDA categorizes MSG to be “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS.

Glutamate is present in foods like ham and some cheeses, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says glutamate is also naturally occurring in humans. How did MSG get a bad rap?

We identify the flavor of MSG as umami, or savory. It’s one of the five elemental flavors we can detect: umami, salt, sweet, sour, and bitter. Like sweet or salty, or any building block, it’s ...

National health organizations and experts agree that MSG is safe to consume as part of a balanced diet. The FDA categorizes MSG to be “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS.

National health organizations and experts agree that MSG is safe to consume as part of a balanced diet. The FDA categorizes MSG to be “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS.

National health organizations and experts agree that MSG is safe to consume as part of a balanced diet. The FDA categorizes MSG to be “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS.