SE4: MSG

Bill Schaff

Writ 1133

Professor Leake

May 6, 2013

MSG

When I got to thinking about the last meal that I have eaten, I started thinking about why some foods have more intense flavors than others. Especially when it comes to non-natural foods such as chips and deserts. In doing some research, I found out that there is actually an ingredient that companies use to intensify the flavors in food. The ingredient is called MSG.

Monosodium glutamate, or MSG or (S)-glutamic acid, was first discovered in 1866 by a chemist named Ritthausen. During this time, Ritthausen did not know what MSG did. What he accomplished was discovering it glutamic acid. It was not until 1908 that we found out what the glutamic acid was used for. At this time, a Japanese chemist named Kikunae Ikeda identified MSG’s as a flavor enhancing substance. He did so by extracting it out of kelp like seaweed called Konbu. The method he used to do so was by boiling 40 kilograms of seaweed and got 30 grams of (S)-glutamic acid. Ikeda identified this as the flavor enhancing part of Konbu (Kauffman, 347). Since 1908, this glutamic acid, which is apart of the amino acid group, has become a regular part of modern day societies and is used widely in many different kind of foods.

As for the production of amino acids, there are four main ways that are typically used to obtain the acids. They are: extraction from natural sources, chemical synthesis, fermentation, and enzymatic catalysis. Of the four ways, on fermentation is used when obtaining the (S)-glutamic acid, or MSG (Kauffman, 347). The actual process of fermentation is one that should only be understood by a chemistry major, but The Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients does a good job of explaining it:

Currently most of the world production of [monosodium glutamate] is by bacterial fermentation. In this method bacteria (especially strains of Micrococcus glutamicus) are grown aerobically in a liquid nutrient medium containing a carbon source (e.g., dextrose or citrate), a nitrogen source such as ammonium ions or urea, and mineral ions and growth factors. The bacteria selected for this process have the ability to excrete glutamic acid they synthesize outside of their cell membrane into the medium and accumulate there. The glutamic acid is separated from the fermentation broth by filtration, concentration, acidification, and crystallization, followed by conversion to its monosodium salt [monosodium glutamate] (Leung, 373).

            There are a number of different ways that MSGs are put into food products but most consist of one of three ways. First in spraying, after the food has been produced the company will spray a layer of MSG onto it in order to enhance the taste or the company can spray it onto the food during the growing phases. An example is wine, people will spray the grapes with MSG while they are still on the vine. This method is not as common as the other two methods. The second method is through basting and injecting. While cooking the food, chefs can pour juices that contain MSGs over the meat to keep it moist or inject it directly with MSGs to enhance the flavor. The third way is through the crops being grown. Companies can add MSGs to the fertilizers used in growing the crops (History and Invention). There are many other ways but these are the main three that are used in todays society.

            Throughout researching the history and production of MSG, what I really learned is that it can be made without using a lab. What I mean by this is that it can be extracted from things in nature. I always thought that MSG, like many food enhancements, was something that we created in a lab to be added into our foods but I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about this. While yes the way that we acquire MSG for our food production is through the lad, it was discovered in something natural. The other thing that I have learned about MSG is the many different ways that it can be added to foods. Coming into this, I thought that MSG was only added after the food had been made. For example, Dorito chips has a layer of something on them and I thought that something was MSG.

            Knowing what I now know about MSG, it actually helps my relationship with the ingredient. Looking only at the history and production, not health concerns because it is very bad for you, it was found in a natural substance and not engineered in a lab. I like this because to me, something that is natural is better for you. I believe that natural things can be digested easier and have less risks to them than things that are created in a lab. I’m not sure if this is right or wrong but it is what I believe. Also, another reason that I like it better after researching it is because there are natural glutamic acids found in our bodies. The way that I see it, if it is already in our body how can it be bad for you?

Works Cited

"History of invention and use of MSG." Truth in Labeling. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2013. <http://www.truthinlabeling.org/IVhistoryOfUse.html>.

Kauffman, George B. "Chemistry is For Everyone." Journal of Chemical Education 81.3 (2004): 347-55. Web. 7 May 2013. <http://www.cornellcollege.edu/chemistry/cstrong/512/msg.pdf>.

Leung, A. and Foster, S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs , and Cosmetics. New York: Wiley, 1996. pp 373-375