Dive Brief:
- Monosodium glutamate, the salt-like flavor enhancer known as MSG, is suddenly winning converts in the United States.
- MSG is wildly popular in Asia, where tiny jars of it appear on restaurant tables the way salt and pepper shakers do here. But American consumers often balk at the ingredient, which has prompted a decades-old trend in which Asian restaurants and snack makers in the States tend to stick "No MSG" claims on menus and packaging as a way to attract health-conscious consumers.
- Now MSG, which scientists already largely agree does not cause sickness in humans, is winning the support of a number of prominent chefs in the States.
Dive Insight:
The "No MSG" phenomenon tends to remind us of the "gluten-free" craze. In both cases, a food ingredient that is common across much of the world becomes reviled here in the States. And in both cases there is considerable controversy over whether or not the ingredient in question is actually causing the symptoms that many people experience.
