Here is my take on MSG, Mono Sodium Glutamate

Maggi products have been revoked from the shelves; seems like most of the guys have removed “cooking” as a hobby from their resume. Yes! Because we grew up eating Maggi, especially hostelers and bachelors. Be it an evening snack, movie-time snack, dinner, breakfast, sometimes even lunch, a pack of Maggi does it all.  Most important of all is its easy-to-cook form as it gets ready in just a matter of minutes, thanks to the attractive TV commercials featuring celebrated star.

MSG is found naturally in Parmesan cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms
(Picture Courtesy - The Hindustan Times)

Maggi has that magical flavour and taste, which induces us to eat more and more. That actually comes from a compound called MSG i.e. Mono Sodium Glutamate, which is a sodium salt of glutamic acid. Whereas, all the Maggi packs comes with a tag No MSG and Nestle stands by it even now (Check this - No MSG in Maggi Noodles, says Nestle). 

MSG is utilized extensively in the food industry as a flavour enhancer to bring a pleasant spicy taste. It is produced by fermentation, a procedure similar to making beer or yogurt. It is the perfect substitution for the naturally occurring glutamate present in tomatoes, potatoes, Parmesan cheese and mushrooms. It increases the meaty, savoury flavour in the food products. And your guess is right, it is particularly popular among Japanese, Korean and Chinese cuisines.

MSG is a common ingredient in soups and stews that we used to have before the main course. The idea behind this is, MSG supplemented soup motivates and stimulates us to eat more and stay healthy. But the so-called intelligent species existing on earth, humans have identified the commercial value in MSG. That resulted in Aji-no-moto, meaning the essence of taste. Well, this is a common ingredient present in almost all fried dishes that we are fond of. All kinds of noodles (not only Maggi), fried rice, fried chicken and every finger-licking food item contains MSG, I mean Aji-no-moto.

As I stated earlier, MSG supplemented products motivates the people to eat more. This in turn resulted in the increased use of MSG in food products as it can fetch more money to the food manufacturers. Whereas the permissible limit set by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for MSG in food products is 3 to 5 grams only.

Although there is no proven fact connecting MSG and any kind of lethal diseases, it is said that excessive consumption of MSG promotes slothfulness and also cause headache, nausea and twitching sensation in the mouth. If a person who is an allergic of glutamic acid consumes MSG supplemented products, he might face adverse health impacts.

If Maggi contains harmful levels of MSG, what about other brand? Why only Maggi is targeted?  

p.s. This article is in no means a supportive piece for Maggi. It is merely an effort to wake people from being ignorant.