Is MSG Bad for You?
The FDA considers the addition of MSG to foods to be generally recognized as safe, or GRAS. It says that although many people identify themselves as sensitive to MSG, scientists have not been able to consistently trigger reactions in studies giving those people MSG or a placebo, and that while it has received reports of symptoms such as headache and nausea after eating foods with MSG, it was never able to confirm that MSG caused them.
According to the FDA, 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 people who consume 3 grams or more of MSG without food, while a typical serving of a food with added MSG contains less than 0.5 grams. Foods with added MSG must list it in the ingredient panel as monosodium glutamate.
In Europe, EFSA re-assessed glutamates used as food additives in 2017 and set a group acceptable daily intake of 30 mg per kilogram of body weight per day. It also concluded that estimated dietary exposure may exceed not only that level but also doses associated with adverse effects in humans for some population groups, and its experts recommended reviewing the maximum permitted levels for these additives.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Regulatory filingThe FDA considers the addition of MSG to foods to be generally recognized as safe, and says scientists have not been able to consistently trigger reactions in studies of people who identify as sensitive to MSG. US FDA ↗
- Government sourceThe FDA says it has received reports of symptoms such as headache and nausea after eating foods containing MSG, but was never able to confirm that MSG caused the reported effects. US FDA ↗
- StudyThe FDA says the FASEB report identified short-term, generally mild symptoms such as headache, numbness, flushing and drowsiness in some sensitive people consuming 3 grams or more of MSG without food, and that a typical serving has less than 0.5 grams. US FDA ↗
- Regulatory filingThe FDA requires foods containing added MSG to list it in the ingredient panel on the packaging as monosodium glutamate. US FDA ↗
- Government sourceEFSA re-assessed glutamates used as food additives in 2017 and derived a group acceptable daily intake of 30 mg per kilogram of body weight per day for all six of these additives. European Food Safety Authority ↗
- Government sourceEFSA concluded that estimated dietary exposure to glutamates may exceed not only the safe level but also doses associated with adverse effects in humans for some population groups, and recommended reviewing maximum permitted levels. European Food Safety Authority ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.