Consensus meeting: monosodium glutamate – an update

Abstract

Objective: Update of the Hohenheim consensus on monosodium glutamate from 1997: Summary and evaluation of recent knowledge with respect to physiology and safety of monosodium glutamate. Design: Experts from a range of relevant disciplines received and considered a series of questions related to aspects of the topic. Setting: University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. Method: The experts met and discussed the questions and arrived at a consensus. Conclusion: Total intake of glutamate from food in European countries is generally stable and ranged from 5 to 12 g/day (free: ca. 1 g, protein-bound: ca. 10 g, added as flavor: ca. 0.4 g). L-Glutamate (GLU) from all sources is mainly used as energy fuel in enterocytes. A maximum intake of 16.000 mg/kg body weight is regarded as safe. The general use of glutamate salts (monosodium-L-glutamate and others) as food additive can, thus, be regarded as harmless for the whole population. Even in unphysiologically high doses GLU will not trespass into fetal circulation. Further research work should, however, be done concerning the effects of high doses of a bolus supply at presence of an impaired blood brain barrier function. In situations with decreased appetite (e.g., elderly persons) palatability can be improved by low dose use of monosodium-L-glutamate.

Food additives and preschool children

“…Over the past number of decades, both of these additives have been subject to in-depth investigations regarding their intakes and effects on health (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31) . However, recent reviews have confirmed that there are no safety concerns regarding the use of either additive (22,32) , and monosodium glutamate was placed on the safest list of food additives by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and the WHO (33,34) . Nevertheless, controversy and consumer debate regarding the use of food additives have recently led to the phenomenon known as 'clean label' products whereby food manufacturers alter the formulation of foodstuffs to produce products that are free from artificial food additives (8) .…”

The sensitivity of male rat reproductive organs to monosodium glutamate

“…e concentrations of MSG used as food additive vary in di erent foods (1). Currently, the safe concentration of MSG in foods and its toxicity in human is still a controversial issue (2). In animals, MSG at higher doses was demonstrated to be a neurotoxic salt that could alter the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and damage neurons in the hypothalamic nuclei (3)(4)(5)(6).…”

GENETIC AND BEHAVIORAL INFLUENCES OF QUININE AND MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE ON Drosophila melanogaster

“…Following the compulsory EU-food labeling law the use of 'enhancer' has to be declared and the name or E-number of the salt has to be given. GLU salts dissociate in the neutral area so that independent from origin and salt species free GLU is formed (Beyreuther et al, 2006).…”