Is MSG Bad for You? What the Records and Research Show

Fact-checked October 2026.

For most people, no. The FDA considers MSG added to food to be "generally recognized as safe." FSANZ is the food safety agency for Australia and New Zealand. It says reviews by FSANZ, JECFA and FASEB each found MSG is not a health concern for the general population. That's the short answer to "is MSG bad for you?"

But there's another side. In 2017, Europe's food safety agency, EFSA, said something different. For some groups of people, intake of glutamate additives went over its daily limit. It even went over doses linked to adverse effects in humans. EFSA said people with high intake in all age groups may go over the limit. So may toddlers and children with medium intake. The agencies don't all agree. We'll show you both sides.

Here's what we checked. We read the FDA's question-and-answer page on MSG. We read the federal rule that lists MSG as a safe food ingredient. We read EFSA's 2017 review, the JECFA record, and the FSANZ page. We read the biggest challenge study, from 2000, and a 2016 review of the headache studies. Here's what we found.

What Is MSG and How Is It Made?

MSG stands for monosodium glutamate. It's the sodium salt of glutamic acid [1]. Glutamic acid is a common amino acid. Amino acids are the small parts that make up protein. Your body has glutamic acid in it naturally [1].

How is it made? Today, MSG is made by fermenting starch, sugar beets, sugar cane or molasses [1]. Fermenting means letting tiny living things change a food over time. The FDA compares that process to making yogurt, vinegar and wine [1].

You already eat glutamate without MSG. The FDA says MSG occurs naturally in many foods, such as tomatoes and cheeses [1]. When you digest protein, it releases free glutamate. That glutamate is chemically the same as the glutamate in MSG [1]. Picture a slice of pizza from the food court. The tomato sauce and the cheese both carry glutamate on their own.

MSG is one additive among many. Our overview of food additives shows where it fits.

Does MSG Cause Headaches or Other Symptoms?

Some people report being sensitive to MSG. But some studies gave them MSG or a placebo. In those, scientists have not been able to trigger reactions every time [1]. A placebo is a look-alike with nothing in it. It's used to compare. Here's what the studies found, and what they didn't.

The biggest challenge study was published in 2000 by Geha and colleagues. It was a double-blind study with a placebo, run at several centers. It tested 130 people who reported symptoms from MSG. The authors called it the largest to date [6]. Double-blind means neither the people nor the researchers knew who got MSG and who got the placebo.

The results suggest one thing. Large doses of MSG without food may cause more symptoms than a placebo. That was in people who believe they react to MSG. But the responses were rare, not consistent, and could not be repeated. And they were not seen when MSG was given with food [6]. The authors also looked at surveys and tests in the general public. They wrote that these show no evidence of bad effects from MSG [6].

Now the headache question. A 2016 systematic review by Obayashi and Nagamura looked at the human studies. A systematic review gathers all the studies on one question and weighs them together. In five papers, covering six studies, MSG was given with food. None showed a significant difference in headache. The one exception was the female group in one study [7]. In the studies that gave MSG without food, four of seven showed a significant difference in headache. But many of those studies used high concentrations of MSG in drinks, over 2%. The authors said that much MSG can be tasted. So those studies were likely not properly blinded [7].

The review concluded that a causal link between MSG and headache has not been proven. It said further studies are needed [7]. One thing to know about this review. Its first author worked for an MSG maker. A group called the International Glutamate Technical Committee paid the fee to publish it. MSG makers belong to that non-profit group. The paper discloses this [7].

So what couldn't we find? We found no study on our list that proves MSG causes headaches. The pattern across the studies is the same. Symptoms show up mainly when MSG is given in large doses without food. And the studies that found them had blinding problems. Think of a bowl of ramen at a noodle shop. That's MSG with food, which is how people actually eat it.

Is MSG Safe? Where FDA, EFSA, JECFA and FSANZ Stand

Four agencies have reviewed MSG. Three say it's not a health concern for the general population. One set a daily limit and says some groups go over it. Here's each one.

FDA

The FDA considers adding MSG to foods to be "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS [1]. In the 1990s, the FDA asked an outside scientific group, FASEB, to examine MSG safety. FASEB's report concluded that MSG is safe [1].

FASEB did find something. Some sensitive people ate 3 grams or more of MSG without food. They had short-term symptoms that passed, and were mostly mild. The symptoms were headache, numbness, flushing, tingling, palpitations (a racing heartbeat) and drowsiness [1]. The FDA says eating more than 3 grams of MSG without food at one time is unlikely. A typical serving of a food with added MSG contains less than 0.5 grams [1].

The FDA has received reports of headache and nausea after eating foods with MSG. It was never able to confirm that MSG caused them [1].

Here's a number that puts it in scale. The FDA says an average adult eats about 13 grams of glutamate a day from the protein in food. Added MSG comes to about 0.55 grams a day [1].

EFSA

EFSA is Europe's food safety agency. Its full name is the European Food Safety Authority. In 2017, it took a fresh look at glutamic acid and glutamates. In Europe, these are listed as E 620 to E 625. It found no adverse effects in the animal studies it had. Those covered short-term, subchronic, chronic, reproductive and developmental studies. Chronic means long-term. It found no concern for genotoxicity, which means harm to genes [5].

Then EFSA set a limit. It started with a study on brain development. In that study, 3,200 mg of MSG per kg of body weight per day was the highest dose with no harmful effect seen. EFSA divided it by a default uncertainty factor of 100. That's a built-in safety margin. The result was a group acceptable daily intake, or ADI. It's 30 mg per kg of body weight per day, counted as glutamic acid [5, 3]. An ADI is a safety limit for how much a person can take in each day.

Here's where EFSA parts ways with the others. For some groups of people, intake of these additives went over the ADI. It even went over doses linked to adverse effects in humans [5]. EFSA said intake may go over the ADI for people with high intake in all age groups. It may also go over for toddlers and children with medium intake [3].

What couldn't EFSA do? It couldn't use the human data to set a safe level. The human studies didn't show a dose with no effect [5]. The limit came from the animal study instead.

JECFA

JECFA is the expert committee on food additives run by the WHO and FAO. Its group ADI for L-glutamic acid and its salts, including monosodium glutamate, is "not specified." That decision came from its 31st meeting in 1987 [4].

FSANZ

FSANZ is Food Standards Australia New Zealand. It says a small number of people may have a mild reaction to large amounts of MSG eaten in a single meal. The reactions it lists are headaches, numbness or tingling, flushing, muscle tightness or general weakness. FSANZ says these reactions normally pass quickly with no lasting effects [8]. It also says reviews by FSANZ, JECFA and FASEB each reached the same finding. MSG is not a health concern for the general population [8].

We ran the same kind of check on Red 40. With MSG, the split is the story. Picture the seasoning aisle at the grocery store. The same shaker of MSG is "generally recognized as safe" under U.S. rules. In Europe's 2017 review, total intake of added glutamates put some groups over the daily limit.

How to Spot MSG on a Label

You can find added MSG on any U.S. label. The rules say it has to be named. Foods with added MSG must list it in the ingredient panel as "monosodium glutamate" [1]. It can't hide under "spices and flavoring" [1].

There's a second group of ingredients to know. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts and protein isolate naturally contain free glutamate. The FDA requires these ingredients to be listed. But it doesn't require the label to say they contain glutamate [1].

That's why the "No MSG" claim has a rule. Products that contain those ingredients can't claim "No MSG" or "No added MSG" on the package [1]. Picture a can of soup on a grocery store shelf. If the label says "yeast extract," it carries glutamate, and it can't say "No MSG" on the front.

So here's your label check. Look for "monosodium glutamate" first. Then look for hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts and protein isolate. Those ingredients show up in many packaged foods. For more on how processed foods are defined, see our guide. The flavor rules work a little differently, as we found in our look at "natural flavors".

Would you rather not read every label by hand? The NutraDetective app helps you check the ingredient list for MSG.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Questions and Answers on Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). Content current as of July 17, 2026. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/questions-and-answers-monosodium-glutamate-msg
2. Code of Federal Regulations. 21 CFR 182.1, Substances that are generally recognized as safe. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-182/subpart-A/section-182.1
3. European Food Safety Authority. EFSA reviews safety of glutamates added to food. July 12, 2017. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/170712
4. WHO, Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Monosodium L-glutamate. https://apps.who.int/food-additives-contaminants-jecfa-database/Home/Chemical/2257
5. EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS). Re-evaluation of glutamic acid (E 620), sodium glutamate (E 621), potassium glutamate (E 622), calcium glutamate (E 623), ammonium glutamate (E 624) and magnesium glutamate (E 625) as food additives. EFSA Journal 2017;15(7):4910. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4910
6. Geha RS, Beiser A, Ren C, et al. Review of alleged reaction to monosodium glutamate and outcome of a multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled study. Journal of Nutrition. 2000;130(4S Suppl):1058S-62S. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10736382/
7. Obayashi Y, Nagamura Y. Does monosodium glutamate really cause headache? A systematic review of human studies. The Journal of Headache and Pain. 2016;17:54. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4870486/
8. Food Standards Australia New Zealand. MSG in food. Page last updated November 26, 2025. https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/additives/msg