Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of
glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally-occurring
non-essential amino acids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
has given MSG its generally recognized as safe
designation.
MSG
is derived from an amino acid calledglutamic acid,which occurs naturally in foods such as mushrooms,
aged parmesan cheese and fermented soybean products like soy sauce.
Glutamic acid belongs to a broad category of compounds
calledglutamates,which are the source of a flavor
calledumami.
