Was privy to a press meet held by Ajinomoto at Hotel GRT Grand this week titled "Seminar of Truth and Facts about Ajinomoto". Yes, that Ajinomoto that everyone is scared to eat and believes will lead to ill-health. The company is trying to change that perception with scientific facts that prove otherwise. To this end they have roped in two academics who were there to answer any questions. The academics were Dr. Dharini Krishnan, a registered Dietitian (RD) also the chairperson of the RD board of the Indian Dietetic Association and Mrs. Devisri Sundaram (left most), Assistant Professor and nutritionist.
The event kicked off with a lively introduction to the brand by Mr. Atsushi Mishuku (in the pic on the right), Director and GM, Ajinomoto India. He said he was aware of the acute negative view the brand's main product has in the food industry and the eye of the general public. But the company has decided to rectify this image by holding such educational presentations that give a science based background to ajinomoto and its history.
<---- Govinda Biswas - Manager, Marketing also gave a talk.
Some information presented at the event:
History of Ajinomoto
Ajinomoto was first extracted from a seaweed called Kombu by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda who was convinced there was a fifth taste associated with the seaweed soup he had. In Japanese cuisine Kombu is used extensively to make Dashi stock that is used in dishes like noodle soup that are highly popular there. This fifth basic taste is "umami" which cannot be obtained by combining any of the other four basic tastes (namely sweet, sour, bitter, salty.)
Making of Ajinomoto
Raw materials of MSG
What is Ajinomoto and why does the company claim it is safe despite the rumors?
The main question is if it's safe for regular consumption. Yes, it is because it has been scientifically proven to not cause number of issues attributed to it like "Chinese restaurant syndrome" says Mr Atsushi and backed up by Dr. Dharini Krishnan as well. They said the studies that had concerning results were performed on rats by directly injecting MSG into the skin rather than through ingestion as would normally occur. Hence those results are misleading they said.
In fact, glutamate is present in almost every food and is essential to the functioning of our body. 40 grams of glutamate is produced in the body every day! Human breast milk has a good amount of glutamate in it which may be a natural method to keep infants interested in nourishing themselves.
High quantities of glutamate is found in cheese especially ripe ones like parmesan, tomatoes and even potatoes. So having a pinch of added MSG is essentially the same as eating any of these natural foods. Another fact that was mentioned was that MSG is 3 times lower in sodium content than common salt, so it could be better to substitute some of the salt for MSG.
Since MSG essentially increases the savouriness of foods, one of the benefits of using it is that people would not skip eating meals due to the food being not so delicious.
Chef Vinod made a delicious paneer 65 with ajinomoto added for that extra umami (we were feeling completely fine after eating it just for the record! :P )
To me, the story of MSG seems to be a perfect case of the general public being scared of artificial additives without realising the science behind it. A theme that's constantly occurring. In this case, MSG is not any more "chemical" than common salt or beer. The FDA (Food and Drug administration) has cleared MSG to be "Generally safe for use" 3 times over the course of the decades now. The same with every other country across the world. The interesting thing is that most of us have been consuming MSG since it is marketed under other names like yeast extract, hydrolized protein, soy protein, whey protein and much more. Next time look at the label of your favorite sauce. So the fear seems to be more a psychological one than physiological. If it's indeed all in the mind, then proper awareness needs to happen so that common people are aware it's nothing to be alarmed about and may in fact help people get their nutrition in a more "savoury" way.
Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/jul/10/foodanddrink.features3
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151106-is-msg-as-bad-as-its-made-out-to-be
Making of Ajinomoto
Raw materials of MSG
It was surprising to know that Ajinomoto is completely vegetarian. But then it makes sense, glutamate is a naturally occurring salt like common salt. The Ajinomoto sold in India is made by fermenting sugarcane juice and then neutralising the glutamic acid obtained from the fermentation process. So you will see a green dot signifying it is veg. Ajinomoto sold in India is made from Thailand and repackaged here in factories near Chennai. However they also have several new products under a brand name called "Hapima."
What is Ajinomoto and why does the company claim it is safe despite the rumors?
The main question is if it's safe for regular consumption. Yes, it is because it has been scientifically proven to not cause number of issues attributed to it like "Chinese restaurant syndrome" says Mr Atsushi and backed up by Dr. Dharini Krishnan as well. They said the studies that had concerning results were performed on rats by directly injecting MSG into the skin rather than through ingestion as would normally occur. Hence those results are misleading they said.
By 1909 the work on kombu was complete. Ikeda made his great announcement in the august pages of the Journal of the Chemical Society of Tokyo. He had isolated, he wrote, a chemical with the molecular formula C5H9NO4. This and the substance's other properties were exactly the same as those of glutamic acid, an amino acid produced by the human body and present in many foodstuffs. When the protein containing glutamic acid is broken down - by cooking, fermentation or ripening - it becomes glutamate. Link to source article
High quantities of glutamate is found in cheese especially ripe ones like parmesan, tomatoes and even potatoes. So having a pinch of added MSG is essentially the same as eating any of these natural foods. Another fact that was mentioned was that MSG is 3 times lower in sodium content than common salt, so it could be better to substitute some of the salt for MSG.
Since MSG essentially increases the savouriness of foods, one of the benefits of using it is that people would not skip eating meals due to the food being not so delicious.
Chef Vinod made a delicious paneer 65 with ajinomoto added for that extra umami (we were feeling completely fine after eating it just for the record! :P )
To me, the story of MSG seems to be a perfect case of the general public being scared of artificial additives without realising the science behind it. A theme that's constantly occurring. In this case, MSG is not any more "chemical" than common salt or beer. The FDA (Food and Drug administration) has cleared MSG to be "Generally safe for use" 3 times over the course of the decades now. The same with every other country across the world. The interesting thing is that most of us have been consuming MSG since it is marketed under other names like yeast extract, hydrolized protein, soy protein, whey protein and much more. Next time look at the label of your favorite sauce. So the fear seems to be more a psychological one than physiological. If it's indeed all in the mind, then proper awareness needs to happen so that common people are aware it's nothing to be alarmed about and may in fact help people get their nutrition in a more "savoury" way.
Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/jul/10/foodanddrink.features3
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151106-is-msg-as-bad-as-its-made-out-to-be
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