The following list of ingredients that contain processed free glutamic acid has been compiled over the last 20 years from consumers’ reports of adverse reactions and information provided by manufacturers and food technologists:
Glutamic acid (E 620)2, Glutamate (E 620)
Monosodium glutamate (E 621)
Monopotassium glutamate (E 622)
Calcium glutamate (E 623)
Monoammonium glutamate (E 624)
Magnesium glutamate (E 625)
Natrium glutamate
Yeast extract
Anything “hydrolyzed”
Any “hydrolyzed protein”
Calcium caseinate, Sodium caseinate
Yeast food, Yeast nutrient
Autolyzed yeast
Gelatin
Textured protein
Soy protein, soy protein concentrate
Soy protein isolate
Whey protein, whey protein concentrate
Whey protein isolate
Anything “…protein”
Vetsin
Ajinomoto
Names of ingredients that often contain or produce processed free glutamic acid:
Carrageenan (E 407)
Bouillon and broth
Stock
Any “flavors” or “flavoring”
Maltodextrin
Citric acid, Citrate (E 330)
Anything “ultra-pasteurized”
Barley malt
Pectin (E 440)
Protease
Anything “enzyme modified”
Anything containing “enzymes”
Malt extract
Soy sauce
Soy sauce extract
Anything “protein fortified”
Anything “fermented”
Seasonings
And, if you are highly sensitive to MSG, the following are ingredients suspected of containing or creating sufficient processed free glutamic acid to serve as MSG-reaction triggers:
Corn starch
Corn syrup
Modified food starch
Lipolyzed butter fat
Dextrose
Rice syrup
Brown rice syrup
Milk powder
Reduced fat milk (skim; 1%; 2%)
most things low fat or no fat
anything Enriched
anything Vitamin enriched
Good luck trying to stay MSG free!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Do carrageenans contain MSG? No, and here’s why.
Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, can cause health problems when used to excess. However, despite claims made on various websites, carrageenans are not a source of MSG.
This confusion may have occurred because carrageenans are derived from seaweeds, and one of the most important natural sources of MSG is the seaweed, kombi. However, carrageenan is extracted from red seaweeds, which contain much less MSG than kombi, a brown seaweed. In addition, any MSG that may be present in the seaweed is washed out during the carrageenan extraction process.
To prove that carrageenan is not a source of MSG, Marinalg tested two of the carrageenans most often used in food products. These tests were carried out by the independent testing company, Eurofins . The two products that were tested are both strong gelling agents: the refined carrageenan E407, and the lesser-refined carrageenan E407a, also known as PES.
MSG is a sodium salt of glutamic acid, a naturally occurring amino acid. Eurofins found that the sample of E407 contained less than 10mg/kg of glutamic acid in total, whether as the free acid, bound into proteins or as the monosodium salt. 10 mg/kg is the limit of detection for the best available testing method, so for all practical purposes, undetectable amounts of glutamic acid in its various forms were present.
Levels of MSG and free glutamic acid were also below 10mg/kg in the PES sample; it did however, contain 0.22% of bound glutamic acid. It is well known that PES contains small amounts of algal cellulose and protein in addition to the carrageenan. Eurofins found that all of this glutamic acid had been present in the seaweed, in bound form in algal protein.
When humans consume glutamic acid that is bound in proteins, it is digested in the stomach and lower intestine. The body then uses the glutamic acid that is freed in this way in the normal process of metabolism, or it is discarded as waste. The body does not store excess glutamic acid ingested from protein. On the other hand, directly ingested MSG is absorbed rapidly and is not excreted as fast, and this is what causes the negative health effects associated with excessive consumption of MSG.
Carrageenans and PES contain less than detectable amounts of free MSG. Health problems have been attributed to the injection of several grams of free MSG at a time. Carrageenans contain less than 10mg of MSG in every kilogram. Very small amounts of carrageenans are used in any given food product. Therefore, they cannot contribute to the negative health effects of MSG consumption.