Contents
In the modern world, the food industry is so developed that there is hardly a person today who has never encountered food additives and flavor enhancers. And among all the synthetic additives and substances found in food formulations, one of the most talked about is monosodium glutamate. Scientists, doctors, nutritionists and owners of large food corporations still cannot unequivocally say whether the use of products with this flavor enhancer harms the human body. However, finding E621-free processed foods on store shelves can be tricky because EXNUMX is added to everything from sausages and sausages to baby juices and instant oatmeal. Do food manufacturers really care so much about the consumer and make sure that he can eat everything only the most delicious, since almost any packaged food contains monosodium glutamate?
Flavor enhancer: description and origin
Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt found in the amino acids glutamic acid. It is a white powder, tasteless and odorless, which can react with water. The substance was first discovered and described in the middle of the 19th century, and found in natural foods: tomatoes, broccoli, meat, milk, cheese. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, industrial production of the additive was established in Japan. In 1947, E621 was officially recognized as a flavor enhancer in the USA and Europe, and since then it has been used everywhere in the food industry.
The principle of “work” of this additive is that it stimulates a certain part of human taste buds, due to which the taste of food is felt brighter, and the food itself seems tastier. Why is this happening? Because these receptors on the tongue and in the mouth react to food with monosodium glutamate as a product rich in protein, that is, satisfying and healthy, so there is a strong desire to eat more and more, which is certainly beneficial for manufacturers.
Another property, due to which this component is present in the composition of any sausage products and not only, is its ability to suppress the growth of bacteria. That is, sausages, sausages, canned food or semi-finished meat products with monosodium glutamate will not spoil for a longer period than without it.
The flavor enhancer can be either natural or artificial. The first is found in common foods, such as fish, meat, seafood, soy sauce, mushrooms, nuts. Even breast milk has a flavor enhancer called glutamine.
Artificial glutamate is synthesized in laboratories. Until the sixties of the last century, E621 was extracted from wheat gluten.
Now this substance is the result of bacterial fermentation of raw materials: sugar beet, molasses or sugar cane.
What foods contain monosodium glutamate
In addition to the fact that the substance is naturally found in some natural products (certain types of algae, tomatoes, meat, milk, and others), it is found in almost any processed food:
- in sausages, sausages, ready minced meat;
- in packaged sauces, marinades, spices;
- in snacks, chips, crackers, snacks;
- in semi-finished products and fast food;
- in instant foods and bouillon cubes;
- in ready-made takeaway salads;
- in cans.
The listed food in itself does not apply to healthy and dietary. Doctors usually recommend not to lean on such products, even for those people who have everything in order with weight and health in general.
Natural raw foods (mushrooms, nuts, meat and even cottage cheese) contain chemically bound glutamate: this is glutamic acid, which is part of proteins. The protein is already broken down in the stomach and intestines, so it cannot affect the taste buds. Monosodium glutamate in the free state is formed during the fermentation process – this is the same flavor enhancer in ketchup or Parmesan cheese.
E621: benefit or harm
The study of this substance is still in full swing. Doctors, scientists and chemists are still divided into several camps: some argue that monosodium glutamate is harmful to humans, while others, on the contrary, consider it a safe component of habitual food. In one statement they agree: in small quantities, the flavor enhancer does not pose a danger to human health.
It is believed that the systematic use of food rich in monosodium glutamine leads to the appearance of various unpleasant symptoms:
- headache;
- shortness of breath;
- increased sweating;
- redness of the skin;
- pain symptoms in the chest area;
- visual impairment.
As for the last point, it is based on research conducted in 2002 in Japan. During the experiment, experimental rats were injected with the substance along with food.
As a result of the experiment, eye diseases and visual impairment were detected in rodents, which is why they began to assert that monosodium glutamate is dangerous, as it contributes to the thinning of the lens of the eye.
However, in this case, the animals were injected with very large doses of the flavor enhancer – 20% of the total daily diet. In addition, the liver was also damaged in the experimental subjects, which is why glutamate in large quantities is also credited with the property of destroying the cells of this organ.
The connection between the appearance of the so-called “Chinese restaurant syndrome” (and this is the shortness of breath, redness of the skin and pain described above) and the use of a flavor enhancer has not yet been scientifically proven, although sometimes lovers of Asian cuisine could feel similar symptoms after dishes that are generously flavored with glutamate in Chinese restaurants .
Doctors say that the substance can be usefully used for medicinal purposes in dentistry, with protein deficiency, diseases of the nervous system, but there is no reliable evidence of this point of view.
A more real danger from the E621 supplement is overeating, and, as a result, weight gain and obesity. Indeed, foods containing glutamate cause appetite even when hunger is already satisfied. Several independent studies in Europe and the US have confirmed this hypothesis. However, there are experiments that refute this information, so there is no exact affirmative information about the relationship between monosodium glutamate in the diet and the appearance of obesity.
The hypothesis that the substance negatively affects the health of asthmatics, provoking asthma attacks, is also not confirmed by scientists.
The really real danger of the additive is that it is often added to their products by unscrupulous manufacturers who need to hide the unpleasant taste of low-quality or expired raw materials. This is especially clear for sausages and frankfurters, because the examination of the composition of many such products suggests that they are prepared practically from the waste of meat shops, adding skin, bones, and soy isolate to the product. To mask the taste of non-meat sausage, monosodium glutamate is simply indispensable – it is what makes this sausage so delicious.
Safe norm of the substance E621 for the body
Regulations of the Customs Union and the European Union regulate the issue of the permissible amount of additive in food products, as well as provide specific figures. For an adult, the use of monosodium glutamate is allowed at a dosage of not more than 10 g per 1 kg of body weight.
For children older than three years, the norm is somewhat less: 3-4 g per 1 kg of body weight. Doctors generally do not recommend giving young children chips, canned food, sausages and other junk food.
Scientists have also calculated the lethal dose of glutamate for an adult organism: it is 16 g per 1 kilogram of body weight.
Food supplement E621 is a unique element of its kind, which is contained in food protein in food products. Thanks to the work of Japanese researchers, it was possible to synthesize it and study the mechanism of its action. Today, giant food corporations cannot imagine their production without this additive, because it helps to make the product even tastier and more in demand, as well as slightly extend its shelf life. Research on the substance is still in full swing, because for almost 100 years of studying and using a flavor enhancer, it has not yet been possible to identify a direct link between it and the appearance of certain health problems in people who use it. One thing can be said for sure: the products to which the substance is added are in themselves harmful and dangerous to humans if they are eaten constantly and in large quantities.
Can monosodium glutamate cause blindness, obesity, asthma and liver damage? Information on this subject is still being analyzed, and the question does not have an unequivocal yes or no answer.