When first learning about healthy eating and ingredient safety, I downloaded a convenient app called Yuka which scanned barcodes of food packages and highlighted ingredients of concern. One ingredient I often saw labeled as high-risk, when scanning foods I knew were bad out of curiosity, was monosodium glutamate (MSG). I didn’t think much of it at first. When researching one of my first “Weekly” articles on artificial food dyes in our cafeteria, I even came across the website of Quest Food, the company that serves our cafeteria food, saying they are “focused on removing harmful additives from menus such as…MSG.” Other times, I saw people on social media claiming the ingredient’s vilification is fueled by outdated, scientifically disproven, and racist myths. Could racial bias really be at the root of a food additive’s notorious reputation?
MSG was first synthesized by Japanese biochemist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908. After noticing that kombu seaweed broth had a unique savory taste not captured by any of the four recognized tastes at the time, he isolated glutamic acid from the kombu and began testing which of its salt forms best delivered that flavor. Monosodium glutamate proved the most soluble and palatable. The taste it produced, which Ikeda named “umami,” is now recognized as the fifth basic taste. Ikeda patented his discovery and commercial production of MSG began in 1909.
It wasn’t until 1968 when the New England Journal of Medicine published a letter from Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok, simply asking for potential reasons as to why he felt “lousy” after eating at restaurants that served Northern Chinese food. He identified three potential culprits: salt, cooking wine, and MSG. Soon after, multiple studies were conducted by neurologist Herbert Schaumburg, showing potential harmful symptoms of MSG consumption, including headaches, racing hearts and chest pain. These experiments had extremely small sample sizes ranging between three to nine volunteers and often had no placebo control groups. Other poorly conducted studies followed, which fueled the media’s coverage of the new so-called “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.”
But what even is MSG and what does the science today tell us? MSG is essentially a salt form of glutamic acid, which is an amino acid, meaning one of the basic building blocks of protein. Glutamic acid is what produces the previously mentioned fifth basic taste, umami. Crucially, glutamic acid isn’t some synthetic chemical foreign to the human body: it occurs naturally in parmesan cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, and soy sauce, and our bodies produce it on its own. So is it possible that somehow when glutamic acid is combined with sodium, it becomes harmful? Despite many decades of public suspicion, the overwhelming body of credible research has found no adverse effects associated with MSG at normal dietary levels. Some studies have suggested potential concerns, including effects on gut microbiome balance, however these findings are often based on large doses exceeding typical human consumption, and the results remain mixed and inconclusive. The European Union, regarded as the gold standard for ingredient safety, authorizes the use of this additive in food.
The reality is that much of the stigma surrounding MSG stems from anti-Asian racism and xenophobia. The Campbell’s Soup Company, an icon of mainstream American food culture, had been adding MSG to their products since the mid 1930s. Yet, the alleged disease was called “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome,” not “Campbell Soup Syndrome.” Evidently, much of the stigma had little to do with science and everything to do with which culture’s kitchen MSG was associated with.
So why has this stigma persisted over 50 years? When I first began delving into the world of healthy eating, it was apps like Yuka and health influencers that guided me, not scientific papers. And that’s true for most people. We extend trust to sources that feel credible and authoritative, rarely questioning the methodology behind a red warning label or a social media post. The problem is that these platforms operate on fear: an ingredient deemed safe doesn’t generate clicks, shares, or app downloads. And fear, it turns out, is also at the root of racism and xenophobia. The same instinct that sensationalizes a weak study is not so different from the one that coined “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” Yet not all platforms operate this way. If you’re looking for a more reliable alternative to Yuka, I highly recommend using the EWG Healthy Living app as the ratings rely much more on broader scientific consensus. They have MSG marked as an ingredient of “lower concern.”
MSG is not the ingredient I thought it was when I first saw the glaring red “hazardous” label in the Yuka app, and it is not what Quest Food implies it is when they list it alongside genuinely harmful additives. The story of MSG reveals how fear and racial bias can override evidence. The stigma outlasted the science by decades, and continues to today. And when you hear someone say an ingredient is bad, ask yourself: is this fear talking, or is this fact?
