From: siddarth@cs.utexas.edu (Siddarth Subramanian)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: MSG
Date: 22 Jul 1992 14:19:18 -0500
Organization: CS Dept, University of Texas at Austin
NNTP-Posting-Host: phobos.cs.utexas.edu

In article <1992Jul22.184155.11235@pony.Ingres.COM> rion@Ingres.COM (Rion Cassidy (x3357) OGT) writes:
>Are you implying that anyone who has a reaction to MSG is not "normal"?
>While not being allergic to it, I do believe that it gives me headaches.
>Becuase no one has died from it there's nothing to worry about?

I don't think Jason was doing that. On the other hand, there seems to
be a scare against MSG going on in this country for some time now and
he was correcting certain misconceptions. If you think it causes you
headaches, feel free to avoid it and insist that manufacturers list it
in their ingredients.

>I think that a very rational view (and the way I percieved the 60 minutes
>report) is that this stuff has no real benefit, but can cause real problems
>for some people. We have a right to know what products its in so we 
>can avoid it if we want to.

"No real benefit" depends on your point of view. MSG is a flavour
enhancer. That's the benefit.

Here's some text from the on-line Academic American Encyclopedia. It
is copyrighted but I believe this should come under fair use
guidelines. It is reprinted here without comment, i.e., I don't
necessarily claim that the information is all accurate or unbiased.


   Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, is a flavor
   enhancer that is widely used in foods.  A white, crystalline
   powder, it is the sodium salt of glutamate.  Glutamate, a
   constituent of all protein, occurs naturally in a wide variety
   of foods including meat, poultry, and many vegetables.  MSG is
   produced through the fermentation of basic foods like molasses,
   a process similar to the one used to make yogurt or sauerkraut.
   The substance is widely used in commercially prepared foods
   containing meat and fish and in home kitchens under a variety
   of trade names.  Optimal concentrations in food are 0.1 to 0.8
   percent, by weight, reflecting levels of glutamate naturally
   occurring in food.  MSG is self-limiting.  Too much may bring
   out unpalatable flavor notes in foods.

   Although MSG is on the Food and Drug Administration's Generally
   Recognized As Safe (GRAS) list, anecdotal reports have linked
   it with "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" (CRS), transient symptoms
   that allegedly occur after eating Chinese food and are reported
   as chest pain, facial pressure, and burning sensations.

   However, placebo-controlled, double-blind testing of subjects
   with suspected sensitivity to MSG have not demonstrated a
   relationship between CRS and MSG.  In 1988, the Joint Expert
   Committee on Food Additives of the United Nations (JECFA),
   following a detailed review of the scientific research on MSG,
   placed MSG in its most favorable classification for food
   additives.  In June 1991, the European Community's Scientific
   Committee for Food also reaffirmed MSG as safe.

 Full text of the Academic American Encyclopedia, with 32,000 articles.
  Data (c) Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc.  Updated September 1991.

-- 

Siddarth Subramanian          INTERNET: siddarth@cs.utexas.edu
Austin, Texas                 UUCP:     uunet!cs.utexas.edu!siddarth
Newsgroups: misc.consumers