MSG Exposed (Monosodium Glutamate)

There was a time when I weighed 40 lbs more than I do today. Back in those days I would drive-thru Jack In The Box several times a week, get two tacos a Jumbo Jack and a big ol’ soda. Sometimes I would switch it up and get some Chicken Strips with BBQ sauce and Bacon and Cheddar Potato Wedges. Looking back at that time, I was destined for disaster. I wasn’t aware of MSG at the time nor was I too concerned with my health or my weight. Times have changed.

Most of my web traffic comes from search engines. Usually from people that are asking the most popular question: “Does Jack In The Box have MSG?” The answer: Yes.

Jack In The Box has been kind enough to give a PDF of their current food ingredients list on their website. You can check it out for yourself, but I’ve done most of the work for you.

The Tacos have MSG

Menu items that contain MSG (in various forms):

• Bacon Ranch Dressing
• Barbecue Dipping Sauce
• Beef Regular Taco
• Buttermilk House Dipping Sauce
• Chicken Fajita Patty
• Grilled Chicken Fillet
• Homestyle Chicken Fillet/Mini Homestyle Fillet
• Chicken Patty
• Spicy Chicken Breast Fillet
• Chicken Strips Grilled
• Creamy Ranch Sauce
• Creamy Southwest Dressing
  

  The Spicy Chicken Sandwich has MSG

• Croutons Gourmet Seasoned
• Egg Rolls
• Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
• Hot Taco Sauce
• Lite Ranch Dressing
• Ranch Dressing
• Sausage Patty
• Seasoned Curly Fries
• Sirloin Beef Patty/Mini Sirloin Beef Patty
• Soy Sauce
• Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
• Taco Sauce
• Teriyaki Dipping Sauce
• Teriyaki Sauce

The Curly Fries have MSG (yeast extract)

The worst offenders are the Chicken Sandwiches, Tacos and Egg Rolls. These items are stacked with various forms of Monosodium Glutamate. Some include Hydrolyzed Soy Protein and Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP),

Almost all of the sauces have MSG in some form or another. It’s actually pretty hard to find sauces anywhere that don’t have MSG of some sort. Fast food is cheap quality food, that’s why you can buy it for .99 cents. The cost is cheap because it’s poor quality food, so they add fillers to it to make it cheaper. This act will then make it not taste very good so then you have to add flavor enhancers such as Monosodium Glutamate and lots of salt to add flavor back.

The problem is the MSG just isn’t good for you, no matter what the main stream media will tell you. They lie. Their advertisers are in the food industry, if the main stream media suddenly started telling you the truth about how harmful MSG is, their advertisers would be severely hurt, loss of revenue.

One of the fillers the food industry uses for fillers is called TVP or Textured Vegetable Protein. Think of it as tofu, pretty bland and tasteless. TVP itself often contains excitotoxins like MSG. You have to mix it in with other things, like MSG or Soy Sauce which has MSG/free glutamates.

The Egg Rolls have MSG

For more info on the dangers of MSG and the link between obesity and MSG. Click here.

Also search for Russell Blaylock M.D., he has several books, one of them is called Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, the other is Health & Nutrition Secrets  That Can Save Your Life. I own both books and I swear by the information in them. Dr. Blaylock is a board certified neurosurgeon for over 20 years.

Have you heard of Jollibee? It’s a popular Filipino fast food restaurant in the California bay area and many other locations around the globe. When I first ran across one of these restaurants I actually thought it was a joke. The mascot is a giant cartoonish looking bee, something you would imagine a trendy Japanese teen hanging out at (bring your Hello Kitty purse and DOMO backpack).

Jollibee Yum! Burger

Just peering in through the window I could see the food on the menu, Jollibee Yum Burger, Jollibee ChickenJoy, Jollibee Spaghetti, BurgerSteak with Rice, JollyHotdog, Macaroni & Cheese Soup and Tuna Pie, yes, seriously, you read that right TUNA PIE!

To me, none of the food looks appealing in any way what-so-ever. When watching people actually eating this stuff, it looks like it’s microwaved GMO plastic food with likely tons of MSG to doll it up taste-wise just as one would put lipstick and a skirt on a pig. Now I didn’t want to immediately start ripping on this place until I had proof of MSG but I needed to do some investigating regardless.

A while back I wrote Jollibee  to see if I could get a copy of their ingredients list for their menu items (you know how I do).  The following is the email exchange:

Hi Jollibee,

Hi, I was looking around and I can’t find any nutrition facts for your food on your website. Do you have nutrition facts and an ingredients list available? Thank you.

-Mike

Response:

Dear Mike,

I would like to acknowledge your e-mail dated December 7.  Thank you for taking the time to write to Jollibee.

Jollibee Tuna Pie

In response to your query, we regret to inform you that we do not have the data of nutritional content of each product that Jollibee has. But rest assured that we serve the highest quality products that provide basic nutritional value through a variety of food choices depending on customer needs.

Nevertheless, I have forwarded your concerns to our Research and Development Department.

Hope I was able to address your needs. Again, thank you for keeping Jollibee in mind.

Best regards,

Kathy Manganti
Customer Care

My response:

Hi Kathy,

Thank you for the prompt reply. Could you at least tell me if there is MSG (monosodium glutamate) in any of your products? Thank you.

-Mike

No reply back to date.

2 weeks later I write another email to Jollibee:

Hi Jollibee,

I wrote back on December 9th inquiring if your food contains monosodium glutamate (MSG) but I haven’t received a reply regarding this issue. I understand you don’t release your nutrition or ingredient facts, that’s okay, but as a person that has a sensitivity for MSG I really need to know if you add it to your food. If you could please reply back it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

-Mike

It’s been 6 months and I’ve never received a response back other than their initial blanket statement of just “trust us” we use the highest quality of ingredients, oh but don’t ask us about MSG, we won’t answer questions on that.

If a company didn’t use MSG and added glutamates in their food they should have no problem at all clearly stating so. At the very least they could release their ingredient list so that their patrons could know what in the hell they are eating. In my opinion, this practice doesn’t sound very honest to me. We are living in an increasingly health conscious world so it’s natural that folks are going to ask “what’s in your food, dude?”

In my opinion, I can speculate that there are several things that will most definitely contain MSG: Gravy/Mushroom Sauce, the crispy coating on the Chicken, the meat on the burgers, virtually any sauce they use and possibly the tuna pie (can we say yuck?).  And you can be assured that just about everything is going to be genetically modified with gobs of preservatives, emulsifiers, artificial colors/flavors, thickeners (probably Carrageenan) and other assorted hydrogenated oils/trans fats etc. Who wants to eat all of that garbage anyways? This is fast food!

This of course is all my own speculation based on my research and experience with MSG. But believe me, I’m right.

Cheetos brand cheese curls have been around since 1948 which creator Charles Elmer Doolin developed for Fritos. They are created by blending together water and corn, pressure extruded through a die and dried with hot air to develop their unique form. The cheesy orange coating is where the MSG comes into play. Chip manufacturers love to add Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) to chips to give them an addicting quality.

Many years ago before educating myself on healthy eating I would devour almost an entire bag of chips like these,  as most typical Americans can probably identify with. Cheetos comes in many flavors and even in “natural” and “baked” versions which would give you the impression that they are somewhat more healthier, but as you will soon learn, it’s all marketing hype.

Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Ingredients with free Glutamate (MSG):

• Monosodium Glutamate, Autolyzed yeast extract, Hydrolyzed soy protein, Sodium caseinate

Natural Cheetos White Cheddar Puffs Ingredients with free Glutamate (MSG):

• Torula yeast*, Maltodextrin

Baked Cheetos Ingredients with free Glutamate (MSG):

• Monosodium Glutamate, Maltodextrin, Whey Protein Concentrate

Cheetos Crunchy Cheese Flavor Ingredients with free Glutamate (MSG):

• Monosodium Glutamate, Maltodextrin, Whey

*Torula Yeast contains free glutamate (MSG), it’s in the same family as Autolyzed Yeast Extract. It just sounds more “natural” and makes the label look clean. For those trying to avoid MSG they will think this product is okay, but it’s deceptive. Why would they hide it on the label if there wasn’t anything wrong with it? To Fool you! Don’t be fooled. Research and read this website to educate yourself. Also check out “Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills” by Russell Blaylock M.D.

Starving college kids will recognize this one. The portable noodle treat in a styrofoam cup. Just pour hot water, chomp, slurp and feel those brain neurons wither away. MSG loves destroying brain cells as much as you love eating it. It can only do what it was designed to do, make your food taste great at the expense of your health. I used to eat these a lot when I was younger, but I know better now. Nissin Cup O Noodles come in many flavors but unfortunately they all include monosodium glutamate (MSG).

For a list of Hidden Sources of MSG

Shrimp flavored chips have been around for a long time, unfortunately so has the MSG that they are liberally laced with. These shrimp flavored chips are manufactured by Calbee.  The MSG in this product isn’t hiding in any obscure ingredient name, it’s just out in the open. Clean labels? We don’t need no stinking clean labels!

Ingredients:
Wheat flour, canola oil, modified food starch, shrimp, salt, monosodium glutamate.

This morning I was watching the Food Network and saw a commercial for Yakisoba Noodles showing how good and yummy they are for kids. I knew right away that they contain MSG even though I’ve never heard of them before.

Usually if something is being sold as a great meal that kids will enjoy they almost always have loads of MSG in it. I did a quick search and it was confirmed. Not just monosodium glutamate but multiple forms of MSG including: monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed corn, dehydrated soy sauce and chicken broth. Most people are unaware that soy sauce contains loads of free glutamate (MSG). Also almost all “chicken broth” or broth/stock of any kind that is made commercially contains MSG.

If something is listed as “Stock”, what exactly does that mean? That’s not one ingredient, it is mulitple ingredients listed under one general name and of course, they don’t have to tell you what’s in it. Even when “chicken/beef/vegetable stock” has “No MSG” on the label, they lie. It’s legal-ease. All that means is the product does not contain “Monosodium Glutamate” the straight up 100% version. But as the informed MSGEXPOSED reader will know, that actually means nothing. They can and do hide the MSG in other abiguous ingredients such as: broth, stock, hydrolyzed corn/soy/wheat/pea protein, autolyzed yeast extract, yeast extract, torula yeast, natural flavors etc etc. Anyways, this product doesn’t even disguise the MSG, it’s just there on the label in plain sight.

I used to eat Doritos when I was younger, crazy good flavors and addicting as hell. After growing up a bit and educating myself on the dangers of MSG (monosodium glutamate), now I know why they are so damn addicting. Virtually all flavored Doritos contain MSG (no, it’s not just in Chinese food, contrary to popular belief). MSG is also linked to obesity in laboratory rodents. All one needs to do is turn your products over and read the ingredients list. Today many food items contain various forms of MSG hidden in other “harmless sounding” ingredients such as Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Autolyzed Yeast Extract or Sodium Caseinate. Please see our more complete list of hidden sources of MSG.

EXTREME MSG Dude!! Can you handle the dangerously bold brain neuron death?

List of Doritos Flavors that contain MSG:

• DORITOS® Blazin’ Buffalo & Ranch Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® COLLISIONS® Hot Wings and Blue Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® COLLISIONS® Pizza Cravers and Ranch Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® COLLISIONS® Zesty Taco and Chipotle Ranch Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® COOL RANCH® Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Diablo Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Last Call Jalapeno Popper Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® NACHO CHEESE® Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Reduced Fat COOL RANCH® Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Reduced Fat NACHO CHEESE® Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Salsa Verde Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Spicy Nacho Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Spicy Sweet Chili Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Taco Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Tacos at Midnight Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® Toro Habanero Flavored Tortilla Chips

• BAKED! DORITOS® NACHO CHEESE® Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® NACHO CHEESE® 100 Calorie Mini Bites Flavored Tortilla Chips

• DORITOS® NACHO CHEESE® Flavored Tortilla Chips 6 Count Singles

• DORITOS® NACHO CHEESE® Flavored Tortilla Chips 12 Count Singles

List of Doritos Chips that do not contain MSG:

• DORITOS® Toasted Corn Tortilla Chips

As you can see, I only found one Doritos Chips products without MSG, those are the plain ol’ regular corn chips. Which is about the only way you can avoid MSG if you want to eat chips. In virtually 99% of flavored chips, there is MSG, even in the organic and “natural” products. Some will contain Torula Yeast or Yeast Extract, which sounds very natural and harmless, but if you do your research you will know that Tah-Dah! There is MSG in those ingredients as well. If you want to enjoy some chips nowdays, you are usually safer to eat unflavored chips, be it corn, potato, flax seed etc. A tip: buy the unflavored chips and add your own seasonings that you Know does not have MSG, like cayanne pepper, chili powder, garlic, hot sauce or dip them in a mixture of basamic vinegar and olive oil.

Almost all of the flavors that contain MSG are in the form of straight up “Monosodium Glutamate”, however there is one flavor that I saw that did not contain Monosodium glutamate persay, but does contain MSG in the form of Sodium Caseinate, that is the Last Call Jalapeno Popper Flavored Tortilla Chips. Yes, this contains MSG as well, it’s just in a different form. If you care about the dangerous health effects of MSG you may want to avoid eating these products that contain it. As always: Read the Ingredient Label!

Many Taco Bell menu items contain MSG (free glutamate)

People have told me that Taco Bell appears healthier to other fast food because it’s tacos and burritos rather than greasy burgers, but there it nothing further from the truth. Taco Bell has a cult-like following of loyal fans that crave their creative quasi-mexi-american food inventiveness. What most do not realize is there is massive amounts of free glutamate (MSG) stuffed into their food. This may be why people crave and eat this stuff many times a week and sometimes more than once a day! The proof is in the pudding MSG.

Taco Bell has worked hard to keep the words “Monosodium Glutamate” off of their ingredients list, but that doesn’t mean there is no MSG. MSG (free glutamate) is hidden in other more harmless looking ingredients in order to create a “clean label” or the illusion that a food is more natural or harmless than it really is. Many of these MSG containing ingredients are labeled as Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Hydrolyzed Chicken Meat, Calcium Caseinate, Chicken Broth and Natural Flavoring. Also see our list of Hidden Sources of MSG on Food Labels for more ingredients that contain MSG.

The following Taco Bell menu items contain various forms of MSG (free glutamate):

• Beef, Seasoned

• Chicken, Southwest

• Chicken, Spicy Shredded

• Chili

• Dressing, Avocado Ranch

• Red Strips, Lime Seasoned

• Rice, Express

• Rice, Seasoned

• Salsa, Citrus

• Sauce, Creamy Lime

• Sauce, Fire

• Sauce, Green Tomatillo

• Sauce, Nacho Cheese

• Sauce, Pepper Jack

• Sauce, Red

• Steak, Carne Asada

The following Taco Bell menu items contain Carrageenan*:

• Sour Cream, Reduced Fat

• Strawberry Topping

• Empanada, Caramel Apple

• Chicken, Spicy Shredded

• Chicken, Southwest

• Steak, Carne Asada

The following Taco Bell menu items contain BHT and/or TBHQ**:

• Chicken, Spicy Shredded

• 

  Taco Bell Fiesta Platter loaded up with MSG

  Eggs

• Sauce, Pizza

• Steak, Carne Asada

• Cinnamon Twists

• Empanada, Caramel Apple

• Nacho Chips

• Nacho Chips, Express

• Red Strips

• Red Strips, Lime Seasoned

• 

  The Seasoned Beef has MSG

  Rice, Express

• Rice, Seasoned

• Shell, Chalupa

• Shell, Pizza

• Shell, Taco

• Shell, Taco Salad

• Shell, Tostada

More information about these harmful additives

*A Note About Carrageenan

“Carrageenan increases free radicals. It is a polysaccharide made from a seaweed, the substance is known to produce intense inflammatory reactions when injected into tissues. In fact, the intense reaction is so reproducible it is used when researchers want to study inflammation. Inflammation is strongly associated with intense free-radical production within tissues. It also may promote accelerated bowel cancer growth.” Carrageenan is used as a thickener. When even small amounts of carrageenan are injected near developing tumors in animals, tumor growth, and eventual metastasis, increases dramatically¹.”
-Source: Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills by Russell Blaylock M.D.

1.) Raz A, Levine G, Khomiak Y. Acute local inflammation potentiates tumor growth in mice. Cancer Letters 148(2000): 115-120

**Definition of TBHQ from Wikipedia:

TBHQ is a highly effective preservative for unsaturated vegetable oils and many edible animal fats. It does not cause discoloration even in the presence of iron, and does not change flavor or odor of the material to which it is added. It can be combined with other preservatives such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). As food additive, its E number is E319, where it is used as a preservative. It is added to a wide range of foods, with highest limit (1000 mg/kg) permitted for frozen fish and fish products. Its primary advantage is enhancing storage life.

It is used industrially as a stabilizer to inhibit autopolymerization of organic peroxides. In perfumery, it is used as a fixative to lower the evaporation rate and improve stability. It is also added to varnishes, lacquers, resins, and oil field additives.

Carcinogenicity of TBHQ

In high doses, it has some negative health effects on lab animals, such as precursors to stomach tumors and damage to DNA.^[1] A number of studies have shown that prolonged exposure to TBHQ may induce carcinogenity.^[2] Other studies, however, have shown inhibition against HCA-induced carcinogenesis (by depression of metabolic activation) for TBHQ and other phenolic antioxidants.^[3]

1. ^ Tert-Butylhydroquinone – safety summary from The International Programme on Chemical Safety
2. ^ Gharavi N, El-Kadi A (2005). “tert-Butylhydroquinone is a novel aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligand”. Drug Metab Dispos 33 (3): 365–72. doi:10.1124/dmd.104.002253. PMID 15608132.
3. ^ Hirose M, Takahashi S, Ogawa K, Futakuchi M, Shirai T, Shibutani M, Uneyama C, Toyoda K, Iwata H (1999). “Chemoprevention of heterocyclic amine-induced carcinogenesis by phenolic compounds in rats”. Cancer Lett 143 (2): 173–8. doi:10.1016/S0304-3835(99)00120-2. PMID 10503899.

Studies showed MSG fed rodents became Grossly Obese

In 1969 Dr. John Olney was conducting experiments on mice using MSG (monosodium glutamate). (Mice are frequently used as test animals because they react most like humans to MSG). He was studying the microscopic changes in the brains of these mice when his assistant noticed that all of the mice given MSG had become grossly obese. They first thought it was a fluke but as the experiments continued he noticed that indeed all of the mice that were fed MSG became grossly obese.

Studies on laboratory animals fed MSG soon after birth also showed that they preferred foods that were high in carbohydrates and low in nutritional value^.1 Researchers also found that this fat could not be exercised off and was extremely difficult to remove through dieting, no matter how stringent.² Research shows that out of all mammals, humans are the most sensitive to the physical damage from ingested MSG. Humans possess a sensitivity five times greater than the mouse and twenty times greater than the rhesus monkey.³ Other studies have also confirmed that MSG causes gross obesity in animals.⁴ Taking into consideration that most of these laboratory experiments with MSG involve rodents, you can see how humans are much more susceptible to the damages of MSG laced food additives in our diet, not to mention the gross obesity linked to MSG consumption.

References:

1. Kanarek RB, Marks-Kaufman R. Increased carbohydrate consumption induced by neonatal administration of monosodium glutamate to rats. Neurobehavioral Toxicology Teratology 3(1981): 343-350
2. Nikoletseas MM. Obesity in exercising, hypophagic rats treated with monosodium glutamate. Physiology & Behavior 19(1977): 767-773
3. Blaylock R. M.D., Food Additives That Can Kill, Health & Nutrition Secrets that can Save your Life. (2002): 179
4. Bunyan J, Elspeth A, Murrell A, Shah PP. The induction of obesity in rodents by means of monosodium glutamate. British Journal of Nutrition 35(1976): 25-39