Safety
MSG has been used for more than 100 years to season food. During this period, extensive studies were conducted to elucidate the role, benefits and safety of MSG. At this point, international and national bodies for the safety of food additives
consider MSG safe for human consumption as a flavor enhancer.
[17] Therefore, the intake of
MSG as a food additive and the natural level of glutamic acid in foods do not represent a toxicological concern in humans.[17] A report from the
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) compiled in 1995 on behalf of the
United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
concluded that MSG is safe when "eaten at customary levels" and although there seems to be a subgroup of apparently healthy individuals that respond with the MSG symptom complex when exposed to 3 g of MSG
in the absence of food, causality by MSG has not been established because the list of MSG Symptom complex was based on testimonial reports.
[19] This report also indicates that
there is no data to support the role of glutamate in chronic and debilitating illnesses. A controlled double-blind multicenter clinical trial failed to demonstrate the relationship between MSG Symptom complex and the consumption of MSG in individuals that believed to react adversely against MSG. No
statistical association has been demonstrated, there were few responses and they were inconsistent.
Symptoms were not observed when MSG was given with food.[20][21][22][23]
Additional studies that have looked into whether MSG causes obesity have given mixed results.
[25][26] There have been several studies investigating an anecdotal link between MSG and
asthma;
current evidence does not support any causal association.
[27]
Since
glutamates are important
neurotransmitters in the human brain, playing a key element in learning and memory, there is ongoing study by
neurologists about possible side-effects of MSG in food but
no conclusive studies drawing any connections.[28]
