Use MSG properly to avoid toxicity

According to nutritionists, eating a lot of MSG is not harmful to health.

Is MSG addiction harmful?

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mui, residing in Dong Hung, Thai Binh, complained that her 4-year-old daughter loves to eat MSG. Every time she sees her mother cooking, she rushes in and asks for some to eat. Ms. Mui does not think that her daughter is whining and not letting her mother do housework. Many times, to please her daughter, she has to give her some to dip in her food.

Sometimes, without waiting for her parents to give her anything, she would eat the instant noodles she saw. Mui worried that eating too much would be bad for her health, but her grandparents said that the instant noodles were just sugarcane residue and were fine.

The case of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa's child living in My Dinh 2, Hanoi is similar. Ms. Hoa went to a nutritionist when her child had a poor appetite if the food did not contain MSG. Ms. Hoa said that if she cooked porridge for her child without MSG, the child would not eat it. When she added MSG, the child ate well. Her family in Hanoi does not use MSG, and her husband does not let any family members eat MSG either.

The reason her child became addicted to MSG was due to circumstances, she sent her child back to the countryside when he was only 10 months old. At home, her grandparents often ate MSG. When they cooked for her, they also added MSG. Because of the familiar taste, the child liked to eat it. For Ms. Hoa, weaning her child off MSG was harder than weaning her off milk. Every time she saw her child eating porridge with MSG, Ms. Hoa and her husband blamed each other.

According to Associate Professor Nguyen Thi Lam - Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Dermatology: MSG is classified by JECFA (Food Additives Committee of FAO/WHO), European Food Safety Commission, FDA, and Vietnam Ministry of Health as a flavoring agent that is allowed to be used without restrictions.

Users can use it as pepper, salt, ... depending on your taste. Therefore, when used, it does not cause cancer, but if eaten too much, like children, the habit of snacking on MSG can cause thirst and drinking a lot of water.

On the other hand, MSG is a flavor enhancer, creating a sweet and delicious taste. Some people are used to eating MSG, so when they lack it, they often feel anorexia. Perhaps that is why many children lose their appetite when there is no MSG, similar to the phenomenon of some children.

Like other spices, MSG should be limited in the food of children under 12 months old. As for children over 12 months old, the amount of MSG that the family eats can be used by the children.

Regarding the information that using MSG at high temperatures will turn into toxic substances, Associate Professor Lam said: At temperatures above 260oC, not only MSG will be transformed but all regular foods will also be transformed into another substance. If using fried foods, you can still add MSG because the temperature when frying only reaches over 100oC.

MSG is another name for Monosodium Glutamate - a salt of glutamic acid (a natural acid that makes up body proteins).

To avoid poisoning when using MSG, consumers should absolutely not add MSG at high temperatures. When cooking food, remove it from the stove before adding MSG. The appropriate temperature to dissolve MSG is about 70 - 90 degrees Celsius.

Do not add MSG directly to cold foods because MSG dissolves poorly at low temperatures. MSG should be dissolved in warm water before mixing into cold foods to enhance the flavor of the dish; MSG should not be used in sour dishes containing vinegar: MSG does not dissolve easily in an acidic environment, so adding MSG to salads and sweet and sour salads is a mistake.

Absolutely do not add MSG to foods that have a natural sweet taste such as tomatoes, shrimp... because it will lose the sweet flavor, sweetness of the dish and cause an unpleasant taste; should not be used with eggs because eggs have a lot of powder and when combined with sodium chloride salt and heated, it will create pure MSG, giving the eggs a delicious flavor.

According to Alobacsi.vn