MSG for me and you

Words

by Nandini Dhir

Why does two minute Mie Goreng taste better than a bowl of rice and freshly sauteed noodles in oil and powder from a plastic sachet, more than fresh

The answer; monosodium glutamate, or more commonly referred to as MSG.

YouTuber and Internet personality Uncle Roger, portrayed by Nigel Ng, surfaced to fame when he criticised an egg-fried rice tutorial by the BBC. Drawing on traits stereotypical of Asian parents — using day-old rice and a wok over a gas stove — Uncle Roger generation migrants. More importantly, he declared his love for MSG.

This restarted the controversy surrounding MSG and its questioned adverse health

However, this mouth-watering seasoning is the missing answer to many food crises.

I have always noticed MSG in my pantry, something my mum would sprinkle into her

Indonesian cooking, from nasi goreng to Mie Goreng. Growing up, MSG was just ‘Sasa realise that the eminent white powder was attaining a bad rap for being a chemical additive, I thought to myself, “Bullshit, I was raised on this!” extracted from seaweed in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese enhancing power. MSG is now derived largely from fermented corn starch, sugar cane and cassava starch, and is found in produce such as mushrooms, tomato and cheese. additive, with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) classifying it as an “added glutamate”, despite being an identical chemical to “natural occurring glutamate” found in fresh produce. This chemical and many consumers feel the need to eliminate MSG from their diet.

The umami taste that MSG that goes beyond saltiness; it is synonymous with meat and protein. MSG has therefore become popular in vegetarian cooking, used to enhance dishes without salt, but with the umami meat.

Some early health scaremongering and subsequent bad press didn’t do it any favours either. In 1968, Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the editor of a medical journal where he described how he “experienced a strange syndrome whenever I have eaten out in a Chinese restaurant.”

The “syndrome” consisted of numbness at the back of the neck, general weakness, and palpitation (among other symptoms). One of Dr Ho Man Kwok’s possible explanations for this was MSG. Baseless and anecdotal though it was, his letter would go on to create a media frenzy around the glutamate seasoning and ‘MSG Symptom Complex’ was coined in its wake.

In the decades following Robert Ho Man Kwok’s letter, this mouth watering powder has undeservingly become associated with unnatural and inorganic additives, such as sweeteners. My concern is that people are depriving themselves of the savoury tingle, salivating aroma, and salted heaven of MSG that elevates any dish.

A number of health blogs and nutrition organisations have continued the work of Ho Man Kwok, perpetuating the misconception that MSG is a contributing factor to increased stress levels and anxiety diagnoses. Websites like the Integrative Clinical Nutrition Blog advise “to remove all forms of MSG from your cupboards,” to arguably prevent the growing namely anxiety and depression. Various research papers have contradicted such claims and highlight that there are no clear or consistent links between the ‘MSG Symptom Complex’. To that end, FSANZ states that “MSG is considered safe and is an authorised food additive...” but also recognises that, “A small number of people may experience a mild hypersensitivity-type reaction to large amounts of MSG... These