Most food products contain high content of mono sodium glutamate, which can lead to several health hazards  Mono sodium glutamate, popularly known as MSG, is a chemical approved for use in many countries, although there are some restrictions on its use in some food products. New studies throw more light on the repercussions of MSG usage, especially among children.Today thousands of products manufactured by the food industry in Europe, the US, Australia, Japan and other advanced countries contain MSG at varying concentrations. The products include snacks, soups, sauces, meats, flavoured potato chips etc. Soya sauce, which is used in most food items in China, Japan and other oriental countries, contain glutamic acid and this has been cited as the basis to deflect any question regarding the safety of MSG usage in food products.
The food industry is well aware that although glutamic acid may be present in free form in many natural food items, it is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, MSG, which has the property of enhancing flavour dramatically because it easily dissolves and ionises in aqueous phase. The mere presence of glutamic acid in a complex form need not necessarily cause any harm and therefore such a stand may not be tenable.
Impact on consumers
While adults may have the biological ability to deal with MSG ingested through food, what is bothering concerned scientists is its devastating consequences on children. Unfortunately there are no clear guidelines that bar use of MSG in food targeted at children, although responsible industry players do not use it in products for consumption of children. In case of children belonging to the age group of 3 years and below, food containing MSG should not be consumed.
It is ironical that a country like the US with most liberal view on MSG use, suffers maximum health damage because of large-scale manufacturing and consumption of nutritionally unbalancedandhealth-wise unsafe food products. Within 10 years of clearing the use of MSG in food items in the US, hundreds of studies had emerged showing adverse changes in the body and much data have been accumulated in this regard through published articles in many reputed medical journals. Several studies revealed irreversible destruction of the retina after MSG ingestion. Other studies showed glutamate to be a major excitatory neurotransmitter that causes inflammation of the nerve or brain cell within 90 seconds of contact and within 3 hours the brain cells were found to be dead.
A relatively recent study dramatically brought out that the dendrites of the brain cell and the hypothalamus were being damaged by MSG. Dendrites are the branched projections (like antennas) of the brain cell that conduct the relay of information from brain cell to brain cell. The hypothalamus is critical for both learning and memory and controls the onset of puberty, growth regulation, appetite and sleep cycles. It regulates the pituitary gland, which in turn regulates the entire endocrine system. Damage to the hypothalamus has been linked to endocrine disorders and obesity. What an impressive credential for this flavour booster?
Unless the world acts now to ignore industry inspired studies carried out by obliging scientists, proclaiming the safety of MSG and take effective action to ban the same from all food items, irreversible damage might be caused.
Dr V.H. Potty, food technologist, deputy director (Rtd), former chairman, Technology Application division, CFTRI and currently chairman, Diversified Food Technologies (India), Mysore, India |
