The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) on Thursday announced the decision of its board not to require the mandatory declaration of added flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) in foods served in restaurants and other food outlets.
FSANZ managing director Ian Lindenmayer said the board had accepted that, in certain circumstances, some people may experience some reaction to large amounts of MSG when consumed in a single meal.
"These reactions, while unpleasant, tend to be transient and do not produce any long-lasting effects. There is no robust evidence that MSG is a significant trigger factor in more serious reactions such as asthmatic attacks," Lindenmayer added.
"Our risk analysis found overwhelming evidence that MSG is safe for the general population at the levels typically incorporated into various foods.
"This work took into consideration two toxicological evaluations conducted by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants - a committee of the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation."This committee concluded there were no safety concerns over the use of MSG and did not consider it necessary to set an upper limit for its use.
"As a result, FSANZ will not proceed with an application from NSW Health to require food outlets to provide written advice of the presence of added MSG in their food."
The FSANZ cautioned that the desire to overload consumers with so much information could mean that vitally important warnings are overlooked.
"Because restaurant foods are continually changing with seasonal variation to the availability of the raw ingredients and changing consumer tastes, restaurant menus have generally not been used to convey this sort of information," Lindenmayer said.
''Instead, we generally encourage people who think they have sensitivities to particular foods or food ingredients to enquire about the presence of these in foods they might be ordering when visiting restaurants."
He added that, for this reason, it has not been the practice to require such details to be shown on restaurant menus, even for food ingredients such as nuts and seafood which can cause serious adverse reactions in those people who have an allergy to them.
Glutamate occurs naturally in virtually all foods, including meat, fish, poultry, breast milk, fruit and vegetables. Peas, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms and certain cheeses tend to have high levels of free glutamate, which contribute to their flavour-enhancing effects when used in cooking.
The agency added that various processed and prepared foods, such as traditional seasonings, stock, sauces and canned soups, also contain significant levels of free glutamate, both from natural sources and from added MSG.
Readers can access the Draft Assessment report here .
