A recent citizen’s petition filed by the nonprofit Truth in Labeling Campaign urges the US FDA to rescind the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status of MSG.  Monosodium glutamate is added to many foods as a flavor enhancer and is a highly concentrated glutamate salt produced on a commercial scale via a fermentation process.  Currently, it is approved as a food additive in the US and Europe (E621) as well as many additional markets.  Some consumers and advocacy groups believe that MSG is a neurotoxin and an ingredient that is damaging to health including the function of liver and kidneys.  There are also concerns around the source material of this glutamate. At least one major manufacturer of MSG is defending the ingredient and asserting that MSG is metabolized by the human body the same way regardless of the source material.  For now, FDA has concluded that this ingredient is safe.

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Posted on 1 February 2021