Monosodium glutamate as a tool to reduce sodium in foodstuffs: Technological and safety aspects

Abstract

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is the most commonly used ingredient to provide salty taste to foods. However, excess sodium in the bloodstream has been associated with the development of several chronic noncommunicable diseases. In order to limit sodium intake to levels considered safe, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends for adults a daily intake of not more than 5 g of NaCl (less than 2 g of sodium). One of the strategic actions recommended by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to reduce sodium intake is reformulation of processed foods. This recommendation indicates there is an urgent need to find salt substitutes, and umami compounds have been pointed as an alternative strategy. Like salty, umami is also a basic taste and the major compound associated to umami is monosodium L‐glutamate (MSG). The available scientific data on the toxicity of MSG has been evaluated by scientific committees and regulatory agencies. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) not specified, which indicated that the substance offers no health risk when used as a food additive. The United States Food and Drug Administration and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology classified MSG as a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) substance. In this paper, an overview about salty and umami taste physiology, the potential applications of MSG use to reduce sodium content in specific industrialized foods and safety aspects of MSG as food additive are presented.

Females’ ability to discriminate MSG from NaCl influences perceived intensity but not liking of MSG added vegetable broths

“…Participants rated the control broth as significantly less liked (3.6 ± 1.2) and less intense (4.9 ± 4.3) than all other five broths ( P < 0.001), and rated the medium NaCl + MSG as significantly more liked (5.5 ± 1.7) than all other broths ( P < 0.01), and significantly more intense than all other broths (13.5 ± 9.9, P < 0.00), excepting high salt broth see Figures 3 and 4. The purpose of adding MSG to broths is to increase the overall flavor, continuity, complexity, and liking (Maluly, Arisseto‐Bragotto, & Reyes, 2017). This has been found in previous studies, where the addition of MSG to Na reduced food creates a preferred flavor profile, and increases certain attributes and liking, compared to full Na food (Jinap et al., 2016; Leong et al., 2016; Yamaguchi, 1991).…”

Reformulation of Pastry Products to Improve Effects on Health

“…Meat products, bread and bakery products are the most common sources of salt intake, although other food groups, such as processed meats, dairy products and sauces, also contribute. Salt is crucial for taste and dough structure, but spices, potassium chloride, monosodium glutamate, nucleotides (inosinate and guanylate), other glutamate salts, umami taste, yeast extract and products resulting from the fermentation of wheat and soy may be substituted for it ( Figure 3 ) [ 27 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Moreover, the addition of specific aromatic compounds (e.g., cheese flavour] can be used in order to compensate for the lack of added salt and avoid the flavour changes associated with a significant reduction in salt [ 37 ].…”

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“…Check for updates cent decades due to its action as both a taste stimulus and as a neuromodulator in taste buds [4]. It has also been proposed and evaluated as a substitute for sodium chloride, as an initiative to reduce the sodium content, particularly in industrialized foods, due to the association of excess plasmatic sodium and the development of several chronic non-communicable diseases [5].…”