Consumer Group Critical of MSG Study
A consumer advocacy group is questioning a recently completed study that raised doubts about the adverse effects of monosodium glutamate, or MSG.
The research, conducted by physiology professor Richard Kenney at George Washington University Medical School, concluded that some people mistakenly believe they are sensitive to MSG.
Furthermore, Kenney stated that using the term “Chinese restaurant syndrome” to refer to the purported reactions from the seasoning may be a misnomer. He suggested that other food ingredients produce physical reactions similar to those associated with MSG and that these symptoms are linked to all types of cuisines--not just Chinese.
Meanwhile, Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, has taken issue with some of the inferences drawn from the Kenney study. Jacobson acknowledges that there are occasions when burning or pressure in the chest, back or arms is incorrectly attributed to MSG. However, he said it was misleading to completely discredit reports of physical reactions to the substance.
“A high portion of the population is sensitive to MSG,” Jacobson said. “And everyone agrees that the larger the dose of MSG, the greater the number of people that respond.
“What concentration of MSG is present in Chinese food or in other restaurant food is not really known,” he said. “But to say Chinese restaurant syndrome is not associated with the masses is totally wrong.”
Jacobson conceded that a more appropriate name for reactions to the seasoning would be something such as MSG sensitivity syndrome, but said the Kenney work contributes to a perception that MSG in foods is not a problem.
Sponsored by Glutamate Assn.
In particular, Jacobson was critical of the fact that the Atlanta-based Glutamate Assn. sponsored the Kenney study. The group represents manufacturers and users of the more than 250,000 tons of MSG and related products manufactured annually.
“The Glutamate Assn. wants MSG portrayed in as good a light as possible. They would like to (puncture) the belief that MSG can cause feelings of weakness, headaches, burning sensations, tingling and all these reactions that Dr. Kenney found in his other studies,” Jacobson said.
Many reports of reactions attributed to MSG have been anecdotal, Kenney said in a telephone interview, and this is what prompted his most recent project.
“What I did in this study was to take six people who claimed to have had repeated experiences of adverse reactions which they attributed to MSG,” he said. “I wanted to see if (the seasoning) could be implicated as the cause of these reactions. The answer is no.”
In some of his previous work, Kenney has found that people may be sensitive to MSG but the reaction may be a result of the chemical working in conjunction with some other as-yet-unidentified ingredient.
“There are a number of things that can produce these symptoms,” he said. “An unpleasant aftermath is a common experience of eating.”
