DECEMBER 20259been safely and effectively used as a flavor enhancer and as an effective way to add our fifth basic taste to food ever since. In the 1960s, however, in the midst of the Civil Rights movement and the racial tensions that underscored American life, MSG gained a reputation for being `toxic,' allegedly causing symptoms like headaches and nausea. A debunked letter to the New England Journal of Medicine called this `Chinese Restaurant Syndrome,' and the myth has persisted amidst anti-Asian sentiment.It's now 2023, and the time for propping up old xenophobic strictures should be well behind us. Let me be clear ­ there is no evidence to support the exclusion of MSG on no-no lists. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes MSG as safe. The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are also in agreement. In Defense of Food InnovationAnother major consideration the clean label trend fails to account for is the global and national need for continued food innovation. Keeping our nation and our world fed and healthy requires a great deal of problem-solving from food scientists, nutritionists, and chefs. Beyond logistic issues like food production, distribution, and preservation, innovators frequently need to solve for better, more nutritious solutions. For example, the FDA estimates that 90 percent of American adults are eating more sodium than is recommended, leading to major health complications like high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Data shows a 25-40 percent reduction in sodium is possible in specific product categories when MSG is substituted for a portion of the salt in the recipe. When food scientists and culinary artists sit down at the formulation table to develop products that can help solve real health problems and maintain good taste, we need to use all the tools at our disposal. Food innovators and manufacturers should not be handcuffed to a list of `acceptable' ingredients from anonymous bodies that `believe' or `feel' that certain ingredients don't have a place at the table. The fact is that glutamates are found in many food products these stores sell, including aged cheeses and cured meats. Furthermore, these stores do not seem to have a problem offering foods that are high in sugar, salt, and/or saturated fat. Any argument made against offering products with MSG has no basis in logic or science. The makers of these `no-no' lists are not providing the consumers with science. Marketers, grocers, and retailers who ban ingredients that our food experts have deemed safe either believe they know more than our nation's best food scientists or they're misleading customers to advance their brand. Either way, it's time for those of us who know better to speak out and set the record straight.Excising ingredients based on a perceived consumer trend, or worse, on dated notions tracing back to xenophobia, not only throttles food innovation ­ it erodes consumer trust in our most fundamental institutions. As we see authenticity and honesty valued increasingly highly among millennials and Gen Z, I anticipate a culture shift and a rude awakening for those making these baseless claims. I'm calling for an anti-clean label movement. Or maybe, more to the point, a pro-food science movement. Excising ingredients based on a perceived consumer trend, or worse, on dated notions tracing back to xenophobia, not only throttles food innovation ­ it erodes consumer trust in our most fundamental institutions.
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