Since 1909 when it was first manufactured, MSG has been used in a variety of foods, including meat and poultry items, soups and broths, salad dressings and sauces. Although it has no true taste of its own, MSG works to enhance the flavors already present in foods. The overall taste effect contributed by glutamate is savory or meaty. Gums Gums provide thickness to foods and help form gels in products such as frozen desserts, candies, salad dressings, puddings and whipped toppings. They're also used to keep ingredients suspended in a food and to inhibit crystallization, among other functions.
Preservatives can be antimicrobials, antioxidants, or both.
As antioxidants, they keep foods from becoming rancid and turning brown. As antimicrobials, they inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast and mold. Food additives are very tightly regulated. The Food Additives Amendment to the U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, implemented in 1958, assigned proof for additive safety to the food industry. The degree of safety testing necessarily became very high because the industry had to prove additives were safe before they could be used.