What are Glutamates (MSG)?
Monosodium glutamates (MSG) is the sodium salt of the common amino acid glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is naturally present in our bodies, and in many foods and food additives.
How is it made?
MSG occurs naturally in many foods, such as tomatoes and cheeses. People around the world have eaten glutamate-rich foods throughout history. For example, a historical dish in the Asian community is a glutamate-rich seaweed broth. In 1908, a Japanese professor named Kikunae Ikeda was able to extract glutamate from this broth and determined that glutamate provided the savory taste to the soup. Professor Ikeda then filed a patent to produce MSG and commercial production started the following year.
Today, instead of extracting and crystallizing MSG from seaweed broth, MSG is produced by the fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane or molasses. This fermentation process is similar to that used to make yogurt, vinegar and wine.
Is MSG safe to eat?
MSG added to food is safe. The FDA considers the addition of MSG to foods to be “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). Although many people identify themselves as sensitive to MSG, in studies with such individuals given MSG or a placebo, scientists have not been able to consistently trigger reactions.
How can I know if there is MSG in my food?
The FDA and the European Food Safety boy require that foods containing added MSG list it in the ingredient panel on the packaging as monosodium glutamate.
Al Rifai Position on MSG
We believe in unadulterated natural snacking. We dry roast our products without adding any oil or fats in the process. In 2017 we decided to remove all glutamates from our products and we did it.
Now all our prepacked products and the one you buy from our stores are MSG FREE.
Cheers to healthy snacking and longer life.
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