MSG (monosodium glutamate)

In 1908, chemistry professor Kikunae Ikeda analyzed traditional kombu seaweed broth at Tokyo Imperial University in Japan to identify the chemical source of its distinct savory flavor. He extracted and purified glutamic acid from large quantities of kelp, then neutralized the acid with sodium to create stable, water-soluble monosodium glutamate crystals.

Ikeda secured a Japanese patent for his production method in 1908 and coined the term umami to describe the unique savory taste profile. In 1909, he partnered with businessman Saburosuke Suzuki to mass-produce the seasoning, distributing it commercially under the trademark Aji-no-moto. Later, thee venture would expand to become the food-sciences Ajinomoto Group.

Xenophobic suspicion of MSG in the U.S. escalated in 1968 after an informal "letter to the editor" in the New England Journal of Medicine described one physician's experience following meals at Chinese-American restaurants. Decades of controlled clinical trials and evaluations by international food safety authorities subsequently reaffirmed that monosodium glutamate is safe for human consumption in standard dietary quantities, and that efforts to prove otherwise typically relied on doses unrealistic to normal dietary exposure.