Tag: MSG
Cooking at home helps manage chemical exposure
There is no doubt that cooking at home gives you the best possible control over chemicals and additives in your diet. But occasionally it’s fun to go out to eat and, when we do, we are a little at the mercy of the ingredient choices made by kitchen staff.
Continue reading Cooking at home helps manage chemical exposureYes to spices, no to artificial flavours
Next time you open a sachet of powdered flavouring to add to noodles, stop and think what else you could use from your pantry. The sachet most likely contains at least one form of MSG and a range of other additives, artificial colours and flavours you might rather avoid.
Continue reading Yes to spices, no to artificial flavoursMSG has many different names
The food additive 621 MSG is most obviously found listed on a label as 620-622. However MSG is contained in may other ingredients food where it is not listed so conveniently. To avoid MSG in all its disguises be on the lookout for:
Continue reading MSG has many different namesBad food additives in disguise – meat glue
Bad food additives are bad for health, but meat glue, also known as thrombian or transglutimanese enzyme, is a concerning addition to all sorts of food products that we aren?t even told about.
Continue reading Bad food additives in disguise – meat glueWhat is hydrolised vegetable protein (HVP)? – the MSG link
Health concerns over food additive 621 MSG are common among today’s consumers. Avoiding MSG typically involves avoiding additives in the range 620-637 but there are ways MSG creeps into our foods without falling into this numerical range.
Continue reading What is hydrolised vegetable protein (HVP)? – the MSG linkReading food labels 101
Reading food labels can be a satisfying experience! Every now and again, I come across an item that has no questionable additives or chemicals in it and I give a quiet hip hooray. Food manufacturers are changing their approach to food technology as we, as consumers, raise our voices about what we can and can’t […]
Continue reading Reading food labels 101The harmful additive loophole
According to Australian product labeling requirements, if an additive amounts to less than 5% of the product, the manufacturer does not need to list it on the ingredients list. This, of course, can be very misleading to consumers who understandably assume that because an additive is not listed, a product is free from it.
Continue reading The harmful additive loopholeE330 – E333 inquiry about adverse reactions from MSG
Question: My husband has a known sensitivity to MSG and associated flavour enhancers but recently he also seems to be reacting to citric acid and other citrates (E330 -E333). We have the third edition of the chemical maze and in there you indicate that they may provoke symptoms in people sensitive to MSG but this […]
Continue reading E330 – E333 inquiry about adverse reactions from MSGFood Additive of the Week E621 – MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
Although traditional Asian cuisine had often used seaweed extract, which contains high concentrations of glutamic acid, it was not until 1907 that MSG was isolated by Kikunae Ikeda. MSG was subsequently patented by Ajinomoto Corporation of Japan in 1909.
Continue reading Food Additive of the Week E621 – MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)MSG and Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Question: I note that MSG is rated as best avoided and that Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate is rated as safe. I am confused about glutamate safety and how it differs between the two additives? Is it not the glutamate component that is dangerous?
Continue reading MSG and Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate