Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of the naturally occurring amino acid, glutamic acid. MSG makes up 10 to 25 % of all food protein, from both animal and vegetable sources. Many people think that it is evil. For my part, I am sensitive to it. I get stomach aches and headaches when I eat it, and therefor have decided to eliminate it from my diet. In order to do this I read a lot of labels. But it is possible that this is not enough…
I am taking a course right now on the principles of sport nutrition. The course conductor said this:
“anytime you see the words “natural flavor” on an ingredients label it IS M.S.G.”
Have you ever wondered what exactly are the rules when labelling products with M.S.G. in them?
Something about my instructor’s comments struck me as wrong because 1- I didn’t want to believe that Canada would allow mislabelling. We have the most detailed food labelling laws in the world(source) and 2- I have an M.S.G. sensitivity that causes stomach upset and headaches- I have eliminated M.S.G. products from my diet but I do sometimes eat products that say “natural flavor” in the label. I do so without stomach upset nor headaches. So, for me at least there’s a little personal evidence that “natural flavor” and MSG are not the same. But it raises questions. For instance, what is this ‘natural flavor’? Is it a cumulative load of both MSG and “natural flavors” that lead to my headaches and stomach upset? If so, how do I reduce this load and avoid stomach upset and headaches?
So I do what anyone in my position does who wants an answer. I google.
In Canada I assume the rules are different then in the U.S. I am Canadian so this is what I could dig up…
Please keep in mind that I am just cross referencing this with my experience. Your’s may be different or it may be similar. Also, keep in mind that what the law states and what is enforced are often different. I am not examining enforcement merely I am looking at what the official story is.
There are a lot of websites that confirm that “natural flavor” is M.S.G. (328 000 results). And I am not reading all of these. But I decide to have a look at the official story. So I go to Health Canada’s website.
HEALTH CANADA STATES A LOT OF BULLSHIT ABOUT M.S.G. Please note this is just my opinion.
Health Canada’s official position on M.S.G is that “…the use of MSG does not constitute a health hazard to consumers. Health Canada scientists concur with these views.”
This is junk in my opinion. I get sick when I eat the stuff. So I know. You may not. That’s fine.
Now they get into science a bit, sighting lack of evidence that MSG is bad.
” In addition, there is no scientific evidence linking obesity in humans with the consumption of foods containing MSG.”
and then they go on to make concessions for people like me:
“Nevertheless, some individuals may exhibit an allergic-type reaction or hypersensitivity when exposed to MSG. For those who suffer from this sensitivity, avoiding MSG is recommended.”
To me this is analogous to saying “some people may be sensitive to being shot in the stomach. Those people should avoid getting shot in the stomach.”
But okay. What I really want to know is “what are the labelling laws about MSG in Canada?”. Remember, it was my teacher saying that “‘natural flavors’ on labels means MSG” that started this. And this is where things get a bit nebulous…
The problem is that there are glutamates that occur naturally. MSG is not the only source of glutamates. Other sources of free glutamates include tomatoes and tomato juice, grapes and grape juice, other fruit juices, cheeses such as Parmesan and Roquefort, and mushrooms. These foods may also be of concern to those who are sensitive to glutamates. I do not eat a lot of these foods. Perhaps if i did, I would be subject to the same sensitivities I experience when I eat MSG.
“The Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB), in its report on adverse reactions to monosodium glutamate, concluded that there is no difference in the physiological response to synthesized and natural glutamates.”
The Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology? Yes. Health Canada uses U.S. research. . . sigh*
What is this society? Who conducts this research? Who pays for the research? Seems that these are questions that need to be asked and answered if you are going to base recommendations to an entirely other nation(Canada). I’m not looking into this here; I just want to know about labelling.
Well, FASEB may feel there’s no difference but my head and gut sure do.
HERE’S THE THING:
There are no labelling requirements for naturally-occurring free glutamates(source). HOWEVER, in Canada when MSG is added to prepackaged foods, it must be declared on the list of ingredients of food labels, even when it is a component of flavouring preparations, spice mixtures, food flavour-enhancer preparations and other preparations or mixtures(source). .
A product that contains high levels of free glutamate cannot state that it is MSG free when sources of free glutamate are present (e.g., hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), hydrolyzed soy protein (HSP), soya sauce or autolysed yeast extracts). There are also a number of common food ingredients that contain high levels of naturally-occurring free glutamate, including tomatoes and tomato juice, grapes and grape juice, other fruit juices, cheeses such as Parmesan and Roquefort, and mushrooms. These products may act the same way as MSG according to FASEB.
So a tomato sauce cannot be labelled MSG free unless it can be shown that there are no detectable glutamates present.
My nutrition teacher was not wrong when she said that “natural flavors” means MSG IF you concur with the The Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology’s stance that naturally occurring glutamate and MSG are one in the same. If I had to venture a guess, I feel they are not the same but really, what do I know? I eat a lot of tomatoes and tomato sauce. However, I do not eat a lot of hydrolysed vegetable protein , hydrolyzed plant protein , hydrolyzed soy protein , soya sauce or autolysed yeast extracts, grapes and grape juice, other fruit juices, cheeses such as Parmesan and Roquefort, and mushrooms. Maybe if I did I would get stomach upset and headaches. I am not going to try it, though.
.
Please take away from this blog post that if MSG is in a product it must be listed on the label. At least in Canada. There are, however other sources of glutamate that can be listed as “natural flavor”. These sources of glutamates may act the same way as MSG to certain people according to a U.S. society.Also, it is unclear whether or not it is a cumulative load of both MSG and “natural flavors” that lead to my headaches and stomach upset. Balls.
“Health Canada is responsible for establishing health and safety standards and the development of food labelling policies related to health and nutrition under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for the administration of food labelling policies and enforcement of regulatory labelling requirements. Consumers may wish to contact their local CFIA office should there be questions with regard to the labelling of specific food products that they may have purchased. ”
LIKE—-> https://tinyurl.com/8a2n3f5
sources: https://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/msg_qa-qr-eng.php
https://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/guide/ch4e.shtml
.
Please share!
.
.
