Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received on the long-term effects on health of monosodium glutamate in food.

We are advised by the Food Standards Agency, which has responsibility for food safety, that they occasionally receive questions from members of the public and other interested parties about monosodium glutamate (MSG).

All food additives, including MSG, are only permitted after a safety evaluation and the legislation sets out the foods in which it can be used and the conditions of use. MSG has been reviewed by a number of independent expert committees at United Kingdom, European and international level. These committees have concluded that at current levels of use MSG does not present a risk to health.