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Anonymous
MSG is synonymous in modern cuisine. We are exposed to the substance on a daily basis, with no ill-affect. Use of MSG in food has grown in the last 30 years and is still growing. Free glutamates or MSG are added to McDonalds French Fries, KFC Fried Chicken, Boars Head cold cuts, Hamburger Helper, Doritos, Pringles, Progresso and Lipton Soups.
Its found in restaurant gravy from food service carts, marmite, sausages, sushi rolls (even at Whole Foods), and in almost every Japanese or Chinese restaurant dish.
A 1979 glutamate industry sponsored study by G.R. Kerr found that approximately 1.8% of the population is sensitive to MSG. Thats not much higher than the rate of peanut allergies (1.1%) or shellfish (2%). If you regularly experience severe symptoms after eating any food, you might consider visiting an allergist.
The FDA has classified MSG as GRAS or Generally Recognized as Safe since 1959. According to Linda Tollefson, an FDA epidemiologist, There is sensitivity to MSG that is transient. If given enough, especially on an empty stomach, anyone would react with headache, flushing, and chest pain. In 1986, FDAs Advisory Committee on Hypersensitivity to Food Constituents concluded that MSG poses no threat to the general public but that reactions of brief duration might occur in some people.
And a 1991 report by the European Communities (EC) Scientific Committee for Foods classified MSGs acceptable daily intake as not specified, the most favorable designation for a food ingredient. The EC Committee stated, Infants, including prematures, have been shown to metabolize glutamate as efficiently as adults and therefore do not display any special susceptibility to elevated oral intakes of glutamate.
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