Monosodium glutamate
This page explains what Monosodium glutamate is, where it shows up in restaurant food, and which ingredient reports connect to it.
- Concern
- Low / Limited Concern
- Function
- Flavour enhancer
- Updated
- 2026-02-18
What this is
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer added to foods to impart a savory “umami” taste. It is the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamate, found naturally in tomatoes, cheese, and other foods. Regulatory authorities like the FDA consider MSG generally safe. However, a small fraction of people report short-term symptoms (such as headache or flushing) after eating a large MSG-heavy meal. Scientific studies have not confirmed any widespread or lasting harm from MSG at the amounts used in food
Critical Endpoints
The key endpoints experts review in safety assessments (critical endpoints). This is not a prediction of harm.
Restaurant Usage
7 linked ingredient reports
State Actions
0 current actions
No current state action is listed for this ingredient in the policy tracker.