Dashi stock granules, Ajinomoto, MSG and health considerations


Monosodium glutamate or MSG is a concentrated and manufactured form of umami. It is a flavor enhancer with a lot of controversy. I won't get into that at the moment, since reactions to MSG really vary widely depending on the individual. The reality is that MSG is present in many manufactured food products.

Now specifically about Ajinomoto, the white granulated product that is synonymous with MSG: According to the official Japanese Ajinomoto company site, it is currently made by "fermenting the sugar extracted from sugar canes or corn, tapioca starch and other ingredients". That doesn't mean of course that MSG manufactured by other companies are made the same way. They also state that when the company was founded, they used to make MSG from wheat gluten, and later moved on to extraction from soy beans.

Ajinomoto is also a major manufacturer of dashi stock granules (their product name is Hondashi). On the Hondashi page they emphasize that they make Hondashi from real bonito (this is why dashi stock granules are not vegetarian).

Food allergies are just as hot a topic in Japan as they are in the rest of the world, especially children with allergies. Unlike in the English speaking parts of the world where allergies seem to be defined more granularly, most environmentally caused allergies are called by the general name atopii (アトピー), which is derived from the term atopic syndrome. Generally the current commonly held belief amongst people affected by atopii, especially mothers with allergic children, is to avoid all food additives, including Ajinomoto/MSG (called kagaku choumiryou, meaning "chemical food flavoring") and dashi stock granules. Whether this has concrete scientific backing is beyond the scope of this site, but it might be something to consider if you're affected by food-related allergies. (Anyone who's been to Japan knows that there are a positively staggering array of skillfully packaged and marketed manufactured/pre-packed products loaded with chemicals, additives, etc. there. Instant ramen is just one of millions of probably-bad-for-you products.)

As for myself, I haven't had Ajinomoto in my kitchen for a very long time. I can't even remember the last time I bought it. I do however use other flavor enhancers on occasion, such as dashi stock granules and soup stock cubes. Fortunately no one I have to cook for regularly (including myself) has a known intolerance for these foods. I do much prefer to make dashi stock from real bonito flakes and kombu seaweed, since it's relatively easy to do so. (Compare the procedure for making a bonito-kombu stock to making say, a real beef stock from bones and such...the latter is considerably more complicated and messy.)

The good news as far as Japanese cooking is concerned is that many if not most, Japanese dishes rely on a boost of umami, but adding this is quite simple since many natural or naturally produced ingredients that are used in everyday Japanese cooking are loaded with umami: bonito flakes, kombu and other seaweeds, dried shiitake, dried fish (niboshi) or dried fish powder; miso; soy sauce; and so on. So, when in doubt you may want to rely on the natural umami ingredients.


I try to avoid MSG anyways but since there was that scandal about pork enzymes being used in the production of Ajinomoto in (muslim!) Indonesia a few years ago, my aversions (as a vegetarian) against it increased beyond measure.
Besides that it is orexigenic (and I don't eat to get more hungry), makes you thirsty (that is why bad restaurants use it a lot: to make you order more beverages/drinks!) and I know people who react asthmatic to it..
Who want to eat that?! And as you said cooking without it is just as easy and much more healthy and appetising :)

Can you give any advice to people avoiding MSG who'd like to visit japan?
Its bad enough visiting the japan centre in london, reading all the english translations on the packets (printed and stuck on)
is there a name of a particular type of restaurant or health shop that wouldnt sell msg-containing products including those that are disguised.
Also, what are the most popular brands of dashi that contain all the natural ingredients like shiitake, bonito, etc? -and not "Modified yeast extracts" which may or not be "mono-sodium"-glutamate, or other flavour enhancers.

I was told that MSG is actually found in seaweed. do they mean the exact same chemical but in small amounts? or simmilar compounds? i wasnt aware that it was found in nature

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