For years, the food additive monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG, has been stigmatized as an unhealthy processed ingredient. According to CNN, this is without supporting evidence.
Many argue that this judgment of MSG, which is often an ingredient in Chinese foods, is inaccurate. CNN says:
This perception of MSG, which activists argue is outdated and racist, is so widespread that the Merriam-Webster dictionary has an entry for the term “Chinese restaurant syndrome” — a type of condition that allegedly affects people eating “Chinese food heavily seasoned with monosodium glutamate,” with symptoms like dizziness and palpitations.1
RELATED STORY:
Presently, Japanese food and seasoning company Ajinomoto, has initiated an online campaign called “Redefine CRS.” The campaign urges Merriam-Webster to change its entry to reflect the scientific consensus on MSG and the effect of misinformation on the American public’s perception of Asian cuisine. The campaign website says:
“To this day, the myth around MSG is ingrained in America’s consciousness, with Asian food and culture still receiving unfair blame. Chinese Restaurant Syndrome isn’t just scientifically false — it’s xenophobic.”
Ajinomoto released a video featuring several Asian American figures, restaurateurs, and medical professionals who speak out against the misconceptions surrounding MSG and Chinese food. CNN says:
“Calling it Chinese restaurant syndrome is really ignorant,” said restaurateur Eddie Huang, whose memoir was adapted into the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat.” In the video, he pointed out that MSG is not only delicious — but found in practically all processed foods, from ranch dressing to Doritos.
The campaign proposed a new definition for “Chinese restaurant syndrome” in the Merriam-Webster — “an outdated term that falsely blamed Chinese food containing MSG, or monosodium glutamate, for a group of symptoms.”1
RELATED STORY:
Merriam-Webster responded in a tweet on Wednesday, indicating that it would be “reviewing the term and revising accordingly.” The company said:
“We’re constantly in the process of updating as usage and attitudes evolve, so we’re grateful when readers can point us toward a definition that needs attention.”1
MSG is a common amino acid naturally found in foods like cheese and tomatoes and cheese. People figured out how to extract and ferment it using a process similar to how we make wine and yogurt. It is used so extensively because it taps into our fifth basic taste: umami (pronounced oo-maa-mee). Umami is less well known than the other tastes like saltiness or sweetness, but it’s everywhere — it’s the complex, savory taste you find in mushrooms or Parmesan cheese. According to CNN:
People have consumed MSG throughout history, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — but the debate over its health effects began in 1968, when a man wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, complaining of numbness after eating at Chinese restaurants.
The idea that Chinese food was dangerous spread quickly, and was lent legitimacy by some medical professionals at the time. A 1969 scientific paper identified MSG as “the cause of the Chinese restaurant syndrome,” and warned that it caused “burning sensations, facial pressure, and chest pain.”
That’s not to say it was scientifically proven. A 1986 paper in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology argued that a decade of research had “failed to reveal any objective sign” that MSG was dangerous, and that the very idea of “Chinese restaurant syndrome” was “questionable.”
The FDA even set up an independent inquiry into MSG in the 1990s — which ultimately concluded that MSG is safe.
Still, it was too late to contain public fear and anxiety. MSG had effectively been vilified in the American imagination, and was shunned for decades afterward. Even now, a quick Google search for MSG turns up countless pages that ask: is MSG harmful?
Many regulatory bodies and scientific groups have answered this definitively: No. The addition of MSG in foods is “generally recognized as safe,” says the FDA site.1
The World Health Organization and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently conducted a joint study that “failed to confirm an involvement of MSG in ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’.” They remarked that the syndrome was based on “anecdotal” evidence rather than scientific facts.
Moreover, many said, if MSG were so dangerous, masses of people would have fallen sick in countries that cook with the additive, like China and Japan — something that hasn’t happened.
RELATED STORY:
The Ajinomoto campaign points out that the public scare over MSG unfairly placed the blame on Chinese food. The campaign goes on to say that it is partially why, to this day, many in the United States still think of Chinese food as unhealthy, processed, or unhealthy. CNN elaborates:
This perception — and the growing movement to break down this stereotype — made national headlines in the spring of 2019, when a white woman opened a Chinese restaurant called Lucky Lee’s in New York. The restaurant would serve “clean” Chinese food, she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post — food that wasn’t “too oily,” and that wouldn’t make people feel “bloated and icky” afterward.
Almost immediately, the internet was in uproar. Members of the Asian and Asian American community accused the owner of not just appropriating another culture’s cuisine, but doing it with an offensive rather than appreciative approach.
The owner responded shortly after the backlash, acknowledging in an Instagram post that Chinese food had “health benefits” and promising to “always listen and reflect accordingly.” The restaurant closed in December 2019 — just eight months after opening.
She apologized more explicitly in an interview with The New York Times — but still, critics argued that her original post had reinforced negative and false stereotypes around Chinese food instead of exploring what it actually is.1
The controversy ignited a broader discussion on the racially-driven lines drawn around which foods are “clean” and “sophisticated.” Why, for example, is Italian or French cuisine, which are both foreign to the US, seen as high-class fine dining, while Thai or Chinese food is still often regarded as quick, cheap, and low quality?
Some also pointed out that “ethnic” foods — a controversy in itself, because what is “ethnic” anyway? — contain stories that have been erased or unacknowledged completely. According to CNN:
For many, “Americanized” Chinese food was born from desperation and adapted for American tastes — a way for immigrant families to survive in a society that demanded assimilation. To have that food, and its history of immigrant struggle, dismissed as “icky” or “oily” felt like a slap in the face for many in the Asian American community.
For years, Chinese restaurants in the US often had signs inside that announced “No MSG used,” in an attempt to distance themselves from the stigma. Now, some are reclaiming and openly embracing the additive; Chinese restaurant chain Mission Chinese Food has salt shakers filled with MSG, and MSG margaritas with MSG crystals in the ice cubes.1
Which brings us to Ajinomoto, one of the most prominent voices in the MSG market and the leader of the Redefine CRS campaign. Ajinomoto’s MSG seasoning packets and spice mixes are found in many American supermarkets, and the company has been working for years to raise awareness about both the safety of consuming MSG and the ways it can be used to add flavor to dishes.
Amid all the hullabaloo, restaurateurs like celebrity chef David Chang, who produced and starred in the Netflix series “Ugly Delicious,” and Anthony Bourdain, the late host of CNN’s award-winning series “Parts Unknown,” have worked to change public perception.
RELATED STORY:
The fears surrounding MSG were just a “psychosomatic myth,”1 Chang said in a tweet. In another post, he shared how he uses MSG in his daily life, adding it as seasoning to snacks like popcorn.
Bourdain, who traveled the world and showcased an extraordinary diversity of cultures and cuisines, was more explicit. “I think (MSG) is good stuff,”1 he said in a 2016 episode of “Parts Unknown” filmed in China. “I don’t react to it — nobody does. It’s a lie.”1 He added as he walked through the streets of Sichuan:
“You know what causes Chinese restaurant syndrome? Racism.”1
