No added MSG: what it means and what it does not

"No added MSG" on a pack reads like a health promise. It is a narrower statement: nobody put MSG into the recipe. It says nothing about glutamate, which tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, meat and broth contain naturally, and it says nothing about safety, since regulators already consider MSG safe at the levels used in food.

What MSG is

MSG, ผงชูรส in Thai, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most common amino acids in food: a white crystalline powder with no smell of its own, made today by fermenting starch, sugar beets, sugar cane or molasses (FDA). Thailand classes it as a food additive in the flavour enhancer group, วัตถุปรุงแต่งรสอาหาร (Thai FDA). It strengthens the savoury, "meaty" taste often called umami.

Added and natural glutamate are the same substance

Glutamate occurs naturally in almost all foods, including meat, fish, vegetables and mushrooms, and cheeses such as Parmesan are rich in free glutamate (FSANZ). FSANZ finds no chemical difference between added and natural glutamate; the FDA notes that glutamate released when the body digests protein is the same as in MSG. It also gives the scale for the US diet: adults get roughly 13 g of glutamate a day from protein in food, against about 0.55 g from added MSG.

That is why a slow-cooked tomato sauce, a mushroom gravy or a long-simmered chicken broth tastes deep and savoury with no MSG in the pot.

Where five regulators stand

Some people do feel unwell after MSG. A scientific review described by the FDA found that some sensitive people may get short-term, mild symptoms such as headache, flushing or numbness after 3 g or more of MSG taken without food; a typical serving of food with added MSG contains less than 0.5 g. The Thai FDA notes that eating too much may cause a numb tongue, dry mouth or thirst. If you suspect a reaction, FSANZ advises a clinical assessment by a doctor or dietitian rather than guesswork.

Why a label cannot simply say "No MSG"

Glutamate is everywhere, so regulators police the wording. The US FDA does not let foods with naturally occurring free glutamate, such as those with yeast extract or protein isolates, claim "No MSG" or "No added MSG" (FDA). In Thailand, a label cannot claim "no MSG" if the food contains other flavour enhancers such as ribotides (Thai FDA FAQ). Australia and New Zealand require added MSG to appear as "Flavour enhancer (MSG)" or "Flavour enhancer (621)"; natural glutamate, including from ingredients like yeast extract, needs no label (FSANZ).

On a Thai pack, look in the ingredients for วัตถุปรุงแต่งรสอาหาร (flavour enhancer) followed by a name or a number. That is the line to read if you want to avoid added flavour enhancers in general; our guide to reading a ready meal pack shows where it sits. MSG also contains sodium, as its name says. Salt and salty sauces are the bigger sources in most diets, but flavour enhancers count towards the sodium line (salt and sodium).

Our borscht has no added MSG, and still has glutamate

We don't add MSG (monosodium glutamate) as an ingredient to our recipes, including sauces and broths. That is a recipe choice, not a safety claim: MSG is a permitted additive, and dishes made with it are not less safe.

Our dishes are home-style, so we aim to build savoury taste the way home cooks usually do, from broth, tomato paste, mushrooms, onion, garlic, sour cream and spices, as the dish descriptions on our menu show. Those ingredients bring their own glutamate, and we do not call our dishes glutamate-free. A borscht with chicken broth and tomato paste is flavour built from ingredients rather than from a shaker.

Chicken Borscht

322 kcal · P 35 · F 10 · C 23

Per pack. Calculated from the recipe, not measured in a lab.

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The rest of our thinking on ingredients is set out in our Real Food principles.