E number guide

Along with Aspartame (E951), Mono-sodium glutamate (or MSG for short) is one of the more famous E numbers on the list. It’s got a bad reputation and people know it. Although they may not actually know why. You can often tell when something shouldn’t be in food when it is illegal for manufacturers to put it in foods meant for babies or young children.

MSG is the savoury food world’s equivalent of sugar or artificial sweeteners. It convinces the taste buds that food tastes better that it actually does, therefore you’re going to eat more of the foods. So you’ll find it in all sorts of foods, some where you might not have expected it as it can appear on the label as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed yeast, soy extract, and even the unhelpful listing of “natural flavourings”. Another pointer towards the possibility of MSG being present under a different name is the use of any of the additives E626 to E635 (as a quick guide look for the words guanylate or inosinate) as these can be used for their synergistic effects with MSG. For instance a 50/50 mixture of MSG and E626 (Guanylic acid) produces a flavour enhancer 100 times more potent than the same amount of MSG alone.

When dissolved into water or even saliva, MSG dissociates into free sodium and glutamate ions (glutamate is the anionic form of glutamic acid). Too much of this, it is suspected, can cause excessive brain receptor cell activation which may lead to a whole host of nerulogical problems such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons and Huntingdons. Although there is a lot of conflicting research out there.

Further reading:

• E621 - Monosodium glutamate
• UK Food Guide
• WikiPedia