In October 2023, the Singapore Nutrition and Dietetics Association (SNDA), Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF), and The National Kidney Foundation (NKF), in an advisory, advised adoption of MSG as one of the sodium reduction strategies for Singapore. 

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Authors: Taylor C. Wallace, Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA, Alexandra E. Cowan, Think Healthy Group, Inc., Washington, USA and Regan L. Bailey, Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

Year: 2019

Summary: The study conducted in the US analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and estimated the reduction in sodium if glutamates are used as a partial replacement for sodium in certain food categories. The study concluded that the addition of glutamates to certain savory food categories has the potential to help reduce the population’s intake of sodium by approximately 3.0%, and to reduce the intake by 7.3% among consumers of the product categories in which sodium chloride could be substituted for by glutamates.

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Authors: Prabhavathi S.N and Jamuna Prakash, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Manasagangothri, University of Mysore, India

Year: 2019

Summary:

The review evaluated the effectiveness of MSG as a salt substitute in reducing sodium levels in savory foods while maintaining their palatability. It reviewed a study that aimed to determine whether MSG could help lower sodium content by approximately 25% in various food products, such as fried preparations and tomato soups, without negatively impacting flavor. The review found that MSG is the most suitable salt replacer with a great potential to maintain the pleasantness, saltiness, familiarity and taste intensity of various products. 

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Authors: Jeremia Halim & Jean‐Xavier Guinard, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis California, USA, Ali Bouzari and Dan Felder, Pilot R&D, Berkeley California, USA

Year: 2020

Summary:

The study evaluated whether reduced-salt versions of four “better-for-you” dishes, enhanced with monosodium glutamate (MSG), could match or exceed consumer acceptance compared to standard-salt versions. It concluded that MSG can successfully be used in a Salt Flip to mitigate salt and sodium reduction without compromising consumer acceptance of better‐for‐you foods, particularly in complex dishes such as a quinoa bowl or pork cauliflower fried rice.

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Authors: Jordan C. Walker, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA and Robin Dando, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Year: 2023

Summary:

The study was conducted to explore effective sodium reduction strategies using potassium chloride (KCl) andMSG. The study highlighted that MSG and KCL can be used in combination to replace some of the sodium in foods without a decrease in perceived saltiness from these foods, or a drop in liking. 

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Authors: SHIZUKO YAMAGUCHI and CHIKAHITO TAKAHASHI, Central Research Laboratories, Ajinomoto

Year: 1984

Summary:

The study was conducted to investigate how monosodium glutamate (MSG) and sodium chloride (NaCl) interact to affect the sensory qualities of saltiness and palatability in clear soup. It found that reducing NaCl alone from its optimal level of 0.92% led to a significant drop in the soup’s palatability. However, adding 0.38% MSG with 0.41% NaCl restored the soup’s palatability to the same level as the 0.92% NaCl version. This combination resulted in a 40% reduction in sodium content, from 0.36% in the original soup to 0.21% in the MSG-enhanced version.

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