How to Recognize MSG in Food Labels

Many people may be aware of the controversial food additive Monosodium Glutamate or MSG.  However, most people may not be aware of just how widely it is included in everyday food items.  So, if you think you don't have to worry about MSG if you are not eating Chinese food, try finding ranch dressing in the grocery store that does not list monosodium glutamate in the ingredients.  I guarantee you will not succeed until you go to the organic section.  After searching salad dressings, try finding some bullion, broth, or gravy.  Then go to the soup isle and look at the ingredients for some of your favorite soups.  Additionally, check out some meatless dishes or ready to eat meals.  You may be surprised at just how much MSG you are consuming.  This does not even include some of the restaurants other than Chinese restaurants that have also picked up on using MSG without our knowledge.

Why Avoid MSG?
If you are not aware of the controversy surrounding the flavor enhancing additive known as MSG, here are some of the symptoms which have been dubbed the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome."  According to the New England Journal of Medicine, 1968, the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome includes experiencing pain, weakness, numbing, and heart palpitations right after eating MSG.  Though not everyone will experience a strong reaction to MSG, the FDA recommended that MSG not be given to children until their brains were fully developed.  As a result of this recommendation and due to the strong public movement against MSG, most food manufactures removed MSG from baby food.  In addition to the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome symptoms from MSG exposure, the Department of Human Health provided a report titled the "MSG Consumer Complaints of Reported Symptoms," which included symptoms such as headaches, nausea, diarrhea, change in heart rate, mood changes, abdominal pain, dizziness, sleep problems, numbness and change in activity level.  In light of these reported symptoms and since MSG can sometimes be produced from a base of motor oil or kerosene, it is no wonder that so many people wish to avoid it.

MSG and "Truth in Labeling" ???
Since MSG is scientifically classified as a natural substance, food manufactures are not required to list MSG by its name and can get away with having no mention of MSG and instead list "naturally flavored," in the ingredients.  Some of the other popular ways for avoiding the mention of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in ingredients labeling is by listing it as hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolyzed plant protein, autolyzed yeast, or just yeast.  Some labels may even state "no MSG" even though it lists HVP which generally contains from 9 to 16% MSG. (Hersey, 2006).

Is it Possible to Avoid MSG?
Though all of this tricky and confusing labeling may seem as though it will make identifying and avoiding MSG an impossible task, there are things that you can do to assure that you are not stocking your pantry with tons of MSG laced products.

1. Identify MSG Suspect Foods:  If you are serious about weeding MSG out of your diet and the diet of your family, the first step is to identify the main culprits when it comes to the type of foods where MSG usually lurks.  So remember to always be extra cautions when buying bullion, gravies, broths, stocks, dressings, sauces and the spice mixtures to make these products on your own.  You may also want to be extra cautious when purchasing soups and meatless dishes such as boxed rice or pasta or pre-prepared meals.  With respect to restaurants, the biggest culprits but not the only ones are Chinese and Mexican restaurants. (Hersey, 2006).
2. Learn the many names of MSG:  Since food manufactures have leeway to be tricky in their labeling and will not always come out and list MSG in the ingredients, it is best to memorize the code names for MSG.  If you are like me, learning such names can be difficult.  So try writing them down on a piece of paper and taking it with you when you go shopping until you have memorized them.  After checking several times for these names, they will start to jump right out with only a glance at the ingredients.  So a good list of names to start with are: monosodium glutamate, naturally favored, hydrolyzed plant protein, autolyzed yeast, or just yeast.  Be sure to check for these ingredients when shopping for the suspect foods listed above.  If you follow this procedure and are frustrated time an again by finding nothing but MSG products, try checking the organic foods section of your grocery store.  You are likely to find the product you are looking for and without MSG.  If you run into "naturally flavored" and want to know for sure if this means MSG, call the manufacture number listed on the product label.
3. How to be 100% MSG Free: If these methods of avoiding MSG seem a bit too involved and time consuming, or if organic foods seem a bit to expensive for your liking, you may consider a completely different approach.  Though some people may never think to consider it, a lot of the items that are known for containing MSG can easily be made at home.  For example, you may not find any MSG free brands of ranch dressing other than the super expensive organic brands of ranch.  However, if you google "how to make ranch dressing," then you will find tons of very easy recipes.  The easiest recipes consist of a list of spices that you can measure and set aside and then add to the liquid ingredient whenever you feel like making a batch.  It may be impossible for you to find MSG free bullion.  However, you can easily make your own broth by boiling chicken or beef.  Use this broth in the place of the water content listed in your recipe.  If you don't need the broth now, freeze it for later.  If you have no need to boil meats, boil the scraps and the bones which have scrap meat on it.  When cutting up a chicken, save the back bone and freeze it.  Use this to make a broth or a stock when you need to.  There are many different ways to make the same products that you would usually buy at the store.  So whenever you have difficulty finding an affordable MSG Free product, go to Google and look up the recipe.  In most cases, you will be surprised how easy and inexpensive it is to make the same food item at home. 
   
4. What to do when eating out:  Though MSG is most widely used in Chinese and Mexican restaurants, it can also be used in steaks restaurants or in any type of restaurant you can imagine.  So if you want to dine out and also be sure you are not ingesting tons of MSG, the best thing to do is to inform your server that you are allergic to MSG.  Even if you have no known allergies to MSG, this will be the most tactful and effective way of requesting the withholding of MSG.  In fact, go ahead and request MSG be withheld from the dishes of the whole family.  You don't have to specify who has the allergy, it just runs in the family and can trigger severe reactions.  Asking the server directly whether or not they use MSG will likely result in denial of its use.  However, claiming an allergy will assure the restaurant will be compelled to leave out MSG for fear of causing you and your family a severe allergic reaction and being held responsible for doing so.

I hope that you find these tips helpful and that you will be well on your way to eliminating MSG from your diet as well as the diet of your family.  For more information on MSG as well as other harmful food additives, refer to Why Can't My Child Behave? by Jane Hersey.  Though this guide is geared toward helping children by eliminating harmful additives from their diets, this information is also beneficial for adults who wish to cease consumption of chemicals additives.