Editing Monosodium glutamate (section)

==Society and culture==

===Regulations===
{{see also|Glutamate flavoring#Regulations}}

====United States====
MSG is one of several forms of glutamic acid found in foods, in large part because glutamic acid (an amino acid) is pervasive in nature. Glutamic acid and its salts may be present in a variety of other additives, including [[hydrolyzed vegetable protein]], [[autolyzed yeast]], [[hydrolyzed yeast]], [[yeast extract]], [[soy]] extracts, and protein isolate, which must be specifically labeled. Since 1998, MSG cannot be included in the term "spices and flavorings". However, the term "''natural flavor/s''" is used by the food industry for glutamic acid (chemically similar to MSG, lacking only the sodium [[ion]]). The [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) does not require disclosure of components and amounts of "''natural flavor/s''."<ref name=FDACFR>{{cite web |title=CFR – Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Vol 6, Part 501, Subpart B – Specific Animal Food Labeling Requirements |url=http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=501.22 |website=FDA.gov |publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>

====Australia and New Zealand====
Standard 1.2.4 of the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code requires MSG to be labeled in packaged foods. The label must have the food-additive class name (e.g. "flavour enhancer"), followed by the name of the additive ("MSG") or its [[International Numbering System]] (INS) number, 621.<ref name=AUGovLbl4231>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/foodstandardscode/standard124labelling4231.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821130741/http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/foodstandardscode/standard124labelling4231.cfm|archive-date=21 August 2010 |title=Standard 1.2.4 Labelling of Ingredients |work=Food Standards Code |publisher=Food Standards Australia New Zealand |access-date=15 May 2010}}</ref>

====Pakistan====
The [[Punjab Food Authority]] banned Ajinomoto, commonly known as Chinese salt, which contains MSG, from being used in food products in the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab Province]] of Pakistan in January 2018.<ref>{{cite web|title=Punjab Food Authority bans Chinese salt after scientific panel finds it hazardous for health|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1383111/punjab-food-authority-bans-chinese-salt-after-scientific-panel-finds-it-hazardous-for-health|website=Dawn|access-date=15 January 2018|date=15 January 2018}}</ref> 

The prohibition against the import and manufacture of MSG was enforced on 28 February 2018, following an order by the Supreme Court on 10 February 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aiman |first1=Saadia |title=Pakistan lifts ban on MSG import and production |url=https://minutemirror.com.pk/pakistan-lifts-ban-on-msg-import-and-production-321192/ |website=Minute Mirror |date=14 December 2024}}</ref>

In 2024, the federal government lifted the ban on MSG, following objections from Japan and a review of scientific evidence by an expert committee.<ref name=liftpk/> The committee comprising experts from various institutions—including the [[Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]], [[National Agricultural Research Centre]], and [[Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority]]—confirmed MSG as a safe food additive.<ref name=liftpk>{{cite web |title=Govt lifts ban on Ajinomoto salt import from Japan |url=https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2024/12/13/govt-lifts-ban-on-ajinomoto-salt-import-from-japan/ |website=Profit by Pakistan Today |date=13 December 2024}}</ref>

===Names===
The following are alternative names for MSG:<ref name=RiveniMSG>{{cite web |last1=Singh, K. K. |last2=Desai, Pinakin |title=Glutamate Chemical |url=http://www.triveniinterchem.com/glutamate.html |website=TriveniInterChem.com |publisher=Riveni InterChem of Triveni Chemicals, manufacturer & supplier of industrial chemicals, India |access-date=11 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702070829/http://www.triveniinterchem.com/glutamate.html |archive-date=2 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=DesmoExportsProductMSG>{{cite web |last1=Desmo Exports Limited, Chemical Manufacturers and Importers of India |title=Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) |url=http://desmoexports.com/products/msg.htm |website=DesmoExports.com |publisher=Desmo Exports |date=2011 |access-date=11 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611013903/http://desmoexports.com/products/msg.htm |archive-date=11 June 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Chemical names and identifiers
** Monosodium glutamate or sodium glutamate
** Sodium 2-aminopentanedioate
** Glutamic acid, monosodium salt, monohydrate
** L-Glutamic acid, monosodium salt, monohydrate
** L-Monosodium glutamate monohydrate
** Monosodium L-glutamate monohydrate
** MSG monohydrate
** Sodium glutamate monohydrate
** UNII-W81N5U6R6U
** Flavour enhancer E621
* Trade names
** Accent, produced by [[B&G Foods]] Inc., Parsippany, New Jersey, US<ref name=BandGAccent>{{cite web|title=Accent Flavor Enhancer|url=http://www.accentflavor.com/products/accent-flavor-enhancer/|website=AccentFlavor.com|publisher=B&G Foods, Inc.|access-date=11 August 2014|archive-date=17 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617221214/http://www.accentflavor.com/products/accent-flavor-enhancer/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=BGFoods>{{cite web|title=B&G Foods, Incorporated|url=http://www.grocery.com/bg-foods-incorporated/|website=Grocery.com|access-date=13 August 2014|date=14 July 2011}}</ref>
** Aji-No-Moto, produced by [[Ajinomoto]], 26 countries, head office Japan<ref name=AjiNoMotoMSG>{{cite web|title=Monosodium glutamate(MSG)|url=http://www.ajinomoto.com/features/aji-no-moto/en/truth/ |website=Umami Global Website |publisher=Ajinomoto Co., Inc. |access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref><ref name=AjinomotoCorpGuide>{{cite web|title=To Greet the Next 100 Years (Corporate Guide) |url=http://www.ajinomoto.com/en/aboutus/pdf/ajinomoto_profile.pdf?scid=av_ot_pc_comeheadbp_aboutus_ajinomoto_profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707041311/http://www.ajinomoto.com/en/aboutus/pdf/ajinomoto_profile.pdf?scid=av_ot_pc_comeheadbp_aboutus_ajinomoto_profile |archive-date=7 July 2014 |publisher=AAjinomoto Co., Inc. |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
** Tasting Powder
** Ve-Tsin by [[Tien Chu Ve-Tsin]]
** Sazón, distributed by [[Goya Foods]], Jersey City, NJ<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402175148/http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/sazon-seasoning Sazon Seasoning : Substitutes, Ingredients, Equivalents]}}. GourmetSleuth. Retrieved on 4 November 2016.</ref>

===Stigma in cuisine===
====Origin====
The controversy surrounding the safety of MSG started with the publication of Robert Ho Man Kwok's correspondence letter titled "Chinese-Restaurant Syndrome" in the ''[[New England Journal of Medicine]]'' on 4 April 1968.<ref name=lem-up>{{cite journal |last1=LeMesurier |first1=Jennifer L. |title=Uptaking Race: Genre, MSG, and Chinese Dinner |journal=Poroi |date=8 February 2017 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=1–23 |doi=10.13008/2151-2957.1253|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=colgate>{{cite web |last= Blanding |first=Michael |title=The Strange Case of Dr. Ho Man Kwok |website=Colgate Magazine |date=17 January 2020 |url=https://news.colgate.edu/magazine/2019/02/06/the-strange-case-of-dr-ho-man-kwok/ |access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref> In his letter, Kwok suggested several possible causes before he nominated MSG for his symptoms.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kwok |first1=Robert Ho Man |title=Chinese-Restaurant Syndrome |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |date=4 April 1968 |volume=278 |issue=14 |page=796 |doi=10.1056/NEJM196804042781419|pmid=25276867 }}</ref><ref name="freeman">{{cite journal| author = Freeman, Matthew | title = Reconsidering the effects of monosodium glutamate: A literature review| journal = Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners| volume = 18| pages = 482–486| year = 2006| doi = 10.1111/j.1745-7599.2006.00160.x| pmid=16999713| issue = 10| s2cid = 21084909}}</ref> This letter was initially met with insider satirical responses, often using [[Ethnic joke|race as prop for humorous effect]], within the medical community.<ref name=lem-up/> As the media picked up the conversations, they were treated as legitimate, but the racial motivations behind the humor were ignored—reinforcing old racial stereotypes. <ref name=lem-up/>

Despite the resulting public backlash, the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) did not remove MSG from their Generally Recognized as Safe list.<ref name=aok/> In 1970, a National Research Council under the [[National Academy of Sciences]], on behalf of the FDA, investigated MSG but concluded that MSG was safe for consumption.<ref name=aok/>

====Reactions====
The controversy about MSG is tied to racial stereotypes against East Asian societies.<ref name=aok>{{cite journal |url=https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(21)00068-X/fulltext#relatedArticles |title=MSG Is A-OK: Exploring the Xenophobic History of and Best Practices for Consuming Monosodium Glutamate |first1=Amanda |last1=Wahlstedt |first2=Elizabeth |last2=Bradley |first3=Juan |last3=Castillo |first4=Kate |last4=Gardner Burt |journal=Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics |date=2021 |volume=122 |issue=1 |pages=25–29 |doi=10.1016/j.jand.2021.01.020|pmid=33678597 |s2cid=232143333 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Liang |first1=Michelle |title=From MSG to COVID-19: The Politics of America's Fear of Chinese Food |url=https://arts.duke.edu/news/michelle-liang-23-from-msg-to-covid-19-the-politics-of-americas-fear-of-chinese-food/ |website=arts.duke.edu |access-date=9 August 2021 |date=18 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jiang |first1=Irene |date=15 January 2020| title=McDonald's is testing chicken sandwiches with MSG, and people are freaking out. Here's why they shouldn't care one bit. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/msg-in-food-dangerous-bad-myth-2020-1 |website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nierenberg |first1=Amelia |title=The Campaign to Redefine 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/dining/msg-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-merriam-webster-dictionary.html |website=The New York Times |date=16 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=River |title=The FDA Says It's Safe, So Feel Free to Say 'Yes' to MSG |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/rescuing-msgs-unsavory-reputation-11556337610 |website=The Wall Street Journal |date=27 April 2019}}</ref> Herein, specifically [[East Asian cuisine]] was targeted, whereas the widespread usage of MSG in Western processed food does not generate the same stigma.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why Do People Freak Out About MSG in Chinese Food?|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm8Yx-gWlMs | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/Sm8Yx-gWlMs| archive-date=30 October 2021|website=AJ+ (on YouTube) |publisher=[[Al Jazeera Media Network]] |date=14 August 2018 |time=0:00–1:00m and 5:20–8:30m}}{{cbignore}}</ref> These kind of perceptions, such as the rhetoric of the so-called Chinese restaurant syndrome, have been attributed to xenophobic or racist biases.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=LeMesurier |first1=Jennifer L. |title=Uptaking Race: Genre, MSG, and Chinese Dinner |journal=Poroi |date=8 February 2017 |volume=12 |issue=2 |doi=10.13008/2151-2957.1253 | quote=Introduction: ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’ as Rhetorical [...] Finally, I trace how the journalistic uptakes of this discussion, in only taking up certain medical phrases and terms, reproduce the tacit racism of this boundary policing while avowing the neutrality of medical authority.|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=DeJesus |first1=Erin |title=Recapping Anthony Bourdain 'Parts Unknown' in Sichuan |url=https://www.eater.com/2016/10/16/13278532/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-sichuan-china-recap |website=Eater |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |date=16 October 2016}} See also {{cite web |title=Bourdain, off the cuff: Sichuan |url=https://explorepartsunknown.com/sichuan/bourdain-off-the-cuff-sichuan/ |website=Explore Parts Unknown |publisher=CNN |accessdate= 14 December 2018|quote=[On MSG]: You know what causes Chinese-restaurant syndrome? Racism. ‘Ooh, I have a headache, must have been the Chinese guy.’}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Barry-Jester |first1=Anna Maria |title=How MSG Got A Bad Rap: Flawed Science And Xenophobia |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-msg-got-a-bad-rap-flawed-science-and-xenophobia/ |website=[[FiveThirtyEight]] |date=8 January 2016|quote=That MSG causes health problems may have thrived on racially charged biases from the outset. Ian Mosby, a food historian, wrote in a 2009 paper titled “‘That Won-Ton Soup Headache’: The Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, MSG and the Making of American Food, 1968-1980” that fear of MSG in Chinese food is part of the U.S.’s long history of viewing the “exotic” cuisine of Asia as dangerous or dirty.}}</ref><ref name=AJ>{{cite web |title=Why Do People Freak Out About MSG in Chinese Food?|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm8Yx-gWlMs |website=AJ+ |via= YouTube |publisher=[[Al Jazeera Media Network]] |date=14 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Blythman |first1=Joanna |title=Chinese restaurant syndrome: has MSG been unfairly demonised? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/21/chinese-restaurant-syndrome-has-msg-been-unfairly-demonised |website=The Guardian |date=21 May 2018|quote=Although Chang doesn’t use MSG in his kitchens, he has defended its use, telling a high-level meeting of top chefs that Chinese restaurant syndrome is nothing more than a “cultural construct”. That is a polite way of saying that avoidance of MSG is an expression of Western ignorance, or worse, racism, drawing on stereotypes of East Asian countries as dangerous or dirty.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Geiling |first1=Natasha |title=It's the Umami, Stupid. Why the Truth About MSG is So Easy to Swallow |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/its-the-umami-stupid-why-the-truth-about-msg-is-so-easy-to-swallow-180947626/ |website=Smithsonian |date=8 November 2013|quote=Everyone knows this connection, and probably associates MSG use in America most heavily with Chinese restaurants{{snd}}thanks in large part to the absurdly racist name for MSG sensitivity “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.”}}</ref>

Food historian Ian Mosby wrote that fear of MSG in Chinese food is part of the US's long history of viewing the "exotic" cuisine of Asia as dangerous and dirty.<ref>Anna Barry-Jester, [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-msg-got-a-bad-rap-flawed-science-and-xenophobia/ "How MSG Got A Bad Rap: Flawed Science And Xenophobia,"] FiveThirtyEight, 8 January 2016</ref> In 2016, [[Anthony Bourdain]] stated in [[Parts Unknown (TV series)|''Parts Unknown'']] that "I think MSG is good stuff ... You know what causes Chinese restaurant syndrome? Racism."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yeung |first1=Jessie |title=MSG in Chinese food isn't unhealthy – you're just racist, activists say |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/18/asia/chinese-restaurant-syndrome-msg-intl-hnk-scli/index.html |access-date=21 May 2021 |agency=CNN |date=19 January 2020}}</ref>

In 2020, [[Ajinomoto]], the leading manufacturer of MSG, and others launched the #RedefineCRS campaign, in reference to the term "Chinese restaurant syndrome", to combat the misconceptions about MSG, saying they intended to highlight the xenophobic [[prejudice]] against [[East Asian cuisine]] and the scientific evidence.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yeung |first1=Jessie |title=MSG in Chinese food isn't unhealthy -- you're just racist, activists say |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/18/asia/chinese-restaurant-syndrome-msg-intl-hnk-scli/index.html |website=CNN |date=19 January 2020}}</ref> Following the campaign, Merriam-Webster announced it would review the term.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-activists-fight-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-myth-20200120-znyi3draxvcrxpnee4o5fvgbcy-story.html |title=Activists launch campaign to fight 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' myth |last=Theisen |first=Lauren |website=nydailynews.com |access-date=2020-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120103342/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-activists-fight-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-myth-20200120-znyi3draxvcrxpnee4o5fvgbcy-story.html |date=January 19, 2020 |archive-date=2020-01-20 |url-status=live }}</ref>