Here’s how food companies sneak MSG into foods

Julia Calderone

Jan. 21, 2016, 8:14 AM

That savory, meaty, salty taste you get after taking a bite of Chinese beef and broccoli or after a crunch into a Doritos nacho cheese chip is unmistakable. It hits your tongue, makes it water, and leaves you craving more.

MSG, which stands for monosodium glutamate — a naturally-occurring food additive — is largely responsible for that irresistible taste.

Chemists have been infusing it into everything from broths, frozen pizzas, flavored potato chips, salad dressings, deli meats, and hot dogs, for more than a century to make them taste addictively delicious.

"We wouldn't have processed food without MSG," Emma Boast, program director of the Museum of Food and Drink in Brooklyn, New York told Tech Insider. "It makes canned foods tasty."

MSG is a naturally occurring amino acid that makes up proteins in our bodies. But the compound's safety has been debated for years.

While it is generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration, some claim that it can cause adverse reactions in sensitive people, including chest pain, flushing, and sweating. It's also reportedly caused numbness or burning near the mouth and facial pressure or swelling.

While there haven't been any studies to back up this claim, it would be helpful for sensitive or MSG-wary people to know which processed foods contain the ingredient.

Go here to read the rest of the above article. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/msg-goes-by-many-different-names-2016-1

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A few of the other names MSG goes by and why I (Heather Brown) rarely eat out anymore and prefer to cook my own food. I have had some serious health conditions which I have cured on my own by educating myself on the science of processed foods and by being my own best advocate. 

• Glutamic Acid (E 620)
• Glutamate (E 620)
• Monosodium Glutamate (E 621)
• Monopotassium Glutamate (E 622)
• Calcium Glutamate (E 623)
• Monoammonium Glutamate (E 624)
• Magnesium Glutamate (E 625)
• Natrium Glutamate
• Yeast Extract
• Anything “hydrolyzed”
• Any “hydrolyzed protein”
• Calcium Caseinate
• Sodium Caseinate
• Yeast Food
• Yeast Nutrient
• Autolyzed Yeast
• Gelatin
• Textured Protein
• Soy Protein
• Soy Protein Concentrate
• Soy Protein Isolate
• Whey Protein
• Whey Protein Concentrate
• Whey Protein Isolate
• Anything “…protein”
• Vetsin
• Ajinomoto