Think MSG is Bad for You? This Scientific Journal Is to Blame

“It’s time to talk about an injustice that occurred 56 years ago.” These are the opening words of a letter written to The New England Journal of Medicine, urging them to acknowledge the role they played in creating a negative stigma around MSG. The Ajinomoto Group, one of the world’s leading producers of MSG, is at the head of this campaign, called Know MSG. Partnering with chefs, food creators, and dieticians, Ajinomoto is aiming to debunk the myth that MSG is unhealthy — a misconception that originated in 1968 when The New England Journal of Medicine coined the term, “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” 

According to The Food Infodemic Report by the Ajinomoto Group, 20% of people in the United States avoid eating Chinese food because they’re concerned about the side effects of MSG. “An entire food culture has been demonized because of that one term,” says Tia M. Rains, vice president of science, innovation, and corporate affairs for Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America. “We’re hoping [The New England Journal of Medicine] will revisit the term and the role that they have played in this outcome.”

What is MSG?

MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a seasoning designed to add a savory flavor to any dish it touches. It’s also a naturally occurring substance — one that exists in umami-rich foods like tomatoes, seaweed, and cheese. It was discovered in 1908 by a Japanese scientist, Kikunae Ikeda, who was determined to understand the chemistry behind the taste of savoriness. He analyzed his wife’s seaweed soup and discovered the amino acid, glutamate. “He found that that was what was causing the savory taste,” says Rains. When Ikeda paired the glutamate with sodium, it became water soluble and reached an even stronger flavor of umami — a term that Ikeda originated, meaning deliciousness. 

Ikeda began producing monosodium glutamate as a tabletop seasoning and in 1909, the Suzuki Brothers began selling it under the brand name, Ajinomoto which translates to “the essence of taste.”

Ajinomoto expanded to the United States in 1917. “The U.S. government did a lot of sensory work when it comes to MSG — what foods it would lend a flavor to and increase the liking of.” The seasoning was gradually added to more food products, including military rations. But in 1968, The New England Journal of Medicine published a letter that changed everything.

What does The New England Journal of Medicine have to do with MSG?

The New England Journal of Medicine is a weekly publication that shares peer-reviewed studies and medical stories. In 1968, The Journal published a letter to the editor with the headline, “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” Written by Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok, a Chinese-American physician, the letter asked if anyone else had noticed strange symptoms after eating at Chinese restaurants in the United States. Kwok theorized that something about the ingredients — maybe the cooking wine, the excessive salt, or perhaps, the monosodium glutamate — caused generalized weakness, radiating pain down his arms and limbs, and dizziness. 

“There was no clinical study or other study that led to this accusation of Chinese food [or MSG] causing these ill effects,” says Rains. “But the fact that they all showed up together in that letter with that clever title — that’s what got this ball rolling and shifted this perception of MSG, despite it being consumed for decades in the United States and around the world.”

While none of Kwok’s theories were backed by science, it’s particularly telling that the lasting impact of this letter zeroed in on the effects of MSG, rather than any of the other ingredients he listed. “If I look to some of the culinary historians or the anthropological food folks, they would suggest that it had to do with the fact that it was chemical-sounding and that it came from Asia,” says Rains. “There was a lot of anti-Asian sentiment at the time because of the Vietnam War, so it might have been easy to point a finger at MSG and discount the cooking wine or excess sodium.”

According to Rains, several scientists decided to test the effects of MSG by injecting it into laboratory rodents. “As with anything else, if you inject a large enough dose of any compound into laboratory animals — food, water, air — it can cause ill-effects,” she says. “Those studies were published right on the heels of that letter in The Journal and it became easy to conclude that the MSG in Chinese food is what’s making you sick and therefore, MSG is bad and we need to avoid it.”

What has been the lasting impact of The New England Journal of Medicine’s letter?

Despite new studies proving that MSG is not a harmful ingredient and the FDA stating that MSG is “recognized as safe,” according to The Food Infodemic Report by The Ajinomoto Group, 26% of people in the United States still avoid restaurants that use MSG. On top of that, 29% of Asians in the United States have experienced a lasting stigma from the term, “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” 

“The misconceptions surrounding MSG have lingered for a very long time,” says Rains. “It’s spilling over from Chinese food into all Asian food now.” This is a major driving factor for Ajinomoto’s Know MSG campaign — to set the record straight and correct the snowball effect of historical injustices.

What is Know MSG and #RevisitCRS?

The Ajinomoto Group has been making an effort to debunk “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” through its website, Know MSG, but earlier this year, they saw an opportunity to make an actionable change. “A lot of medical groups are now turning a lens on the practices of the past and acknowledging that they contributed to some of these biases in science and medicine,” says Rains. “There’s a big push for looking at social determinants of health. As part of this movement, The New England Journal of Medicine boldly came out and said they would acknowledge the role they played in driving that. So they opened the door for us to encourage them to address how they contributed to the historical injustice when it comes to linking MSG to Chinese food and the made-up syndrome.”

Since then, Ajinomoto has sent two letters to The New England Journal of Medicine, and to this day, they have received no response. So, Ajinomoto connected with chefs, restaurant owners, content creators, and registered dietitians — folks who all share a similar love for MSG and a passion for changing its public perception — to join what Ajinomoto now calls The Umami Collective.

The Umami Collective includes individuals like 2022 F&W Best New Chef Calvin Eng (who has an upcoming cookbook titled, Salt Sugar MSG), cookbook author James Park, recipe developer Maddy Park, and “anti-diet dietician” Cara Harbstreet, and many many more. They’ve all signed an open letter, representing their third attempt to contact The New England Journal of Medicine, and sharing it to their Instagrams with the hashtag, #RevisitCRS. 

“In the spirit of your commitment to address historical injustices, we, the undersigned, ask The Journal to revisit the term “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome,” and the 1968 letter that introduced it to the world,” the open letter reads. “We believe this is an important step towards ending the chapter on this xenophobic myth and, hopefully, retiring this racist phrase once and for all.”

How can I get involved?

Rains encourages anyone who is moved to spread the good word about MSG, to join their Umami Collective. “We hope people will repost [the open letter] to their own social media channels or amplify those folks to get some momentum around this message,” she says.