Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid (glutamate). MSG is a flavor enhancer which has been used effectively for nearly a century to bring out the best flavor of foods

MSG occurs naturally in many foods, such as tomatoes and cheeses. People around the world have eaten glutamate-rich foods throughout history. For example, a historical dish in the Asian community is a glutamate-rich seaweed broth. In 1908, a Japanese professor named Kikunae Ikeda was able to extract glutamate from this broth and determined that glutamate provided the savory taste to the soup. Professor Ikeda then filed a patent to produce MSG and commercial production started the following year. Today, instead of extracting and crystallizing MSG from seaweed broth, MSG is produced by the fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane or molasses. This fermentation process is similar to that used to make yogurt, vinegar and wine.

Yes. MSG has been thoroughly studied by various independent international organizations in clinical and scientific studies which have all come to the same conclusion. MSG has been proven to be SAFE time and again. FDA considers the addition of MSG to foods to be “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). Although many people identify themselves as sensitive to MSG, in studies with such individuals given MSG or a placebo, scientists have not been able to consistently trigger reactions.

No – glutamate or glutamic acid have nothing to do with gluten. A person with Celiac disease may react to the wheat that may be present in soy sauce, but not to the MSG in the product.

Umami is the fifth basic taste along with sweet, bitter, salty and sour. Since the discovery of glutamate in 1908 as the source of Umami taste; AJI-NO-MOTO® monosodium glutamate has been the key to delicious taste that abounds in cuisines all over the world. It has been used to make good food taste better.

Through a natural process of fermentation (refer to the AJI-NO-MOTO® Information brochure)

AJI-NO-MOTO® is a brand of Monosodium glutamate produced and packaged under very hygienic condition. It is used for cooking and not washing as it brings out the natural taste in your cooking. It is one of the widely used and thoroughly researched food ingredients which has gotten NAFDAC APPROVAL in Nigeria and it is valued by chefs and consumers for its ability to enhance natural flavour.

It is part of our brand goal and strategy to retain the Regular Crystal (RC) in the branded AJI-NO-MOTO® sachets so that we do not confuse our numerous consumers who may take it as SUGAR (because sugar comes in white cube forms).

• AJI-NO-MOTO® is made from sugarcane molasses through a natural process of fermentation
• MaDish is a Nigerian concept developed to suit Nigerian dishes. It is a product of high quality made from selected ingredients
• We at Ajinomoto Group have been selling our AJI-NO-MOTO® in over a 100 countries for over a hundred years. There is therefore no doubt that we have a long history and experience in seasoning business especially flavour seasoning.

We at West African Seasoning Company AFN have a very wide distributor channel in over 31 states and a very strong and vibrant Direct Sales force who penetrate the markets all over the federation to reach our ever growing consumers.

The glutamate in MSG is chemically indistinguishable from glutamate present in food proteins. Our bodies ultimately metabolize both sources of glutamate in the same way. An average adult consumes approximately 13 grams of glutamate each day from the protein in food, while intake of added MSG is estimates at around 0.55 grams per day.

FDA requires that foods containing added MSG list it in the ingredient panel on the packaging as monosodium glutamate. However, MSG occurs naturally in ingredients such as hydrolysed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolysed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, and protein isolate, as well as in tomatoes and cheeses. While FDA requires that these products be listed on the ingredient panel, the agency does not require the label to also specify that they naturally contain MSG. However, foods with any ingredient that naturally contains MSG cannot claim “No MSG” or “No added MSG” on their packaging. MSG also cannot be listed as “spices and flavouring.”

Over the years, FDA has received reports of symptoms such as headache and nausea after eating foods containing MSG. However, we were never able to confirm that the MSG caused the reported effects. These adverse event reports helped trigger FDA to ask the independent scientific group Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) to examine the safety of MSG in the 1990s. FASEB’s report concluded that MSG is safe. The FASEB report identified some short-term, transient, and generally mild symptoms, such as headache, numbness, flushing, tingling, palpitations, and drowsiness that may occur in some sensitive individuals who consume 3 grams or more of MSG without food. However, a typical serving of a food with added MSG contains less than 0.5 grams of MSG. Consuming more than 3 grams of MSG without food at one time is unlikely.