In an attempt to arrive at a more definitive conclusion, the FDA commissioned the independent scientific body Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) to evaluate the safety of MSG in the 1990s. Published in The Journal of Nutrition in 1995, the final FASEB report determined that “there is no evidence linking current MSG food use to any serious, long-term medical problems in the general population,” as a later Journal of Nutrition article put it.
Reflecting this, MSG is labeled “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) by the FDA. Yes, “you can experience side effects like headache if you consume too much MSG, but this seems to be rare,” Dr. Alan says.
Ultimately, no compelling research has emerged to bear out the idea that MSG is inherently bad. Even the chemical makeup supports this verdict, according to Dr. Lee: Since both components of MSG, sodium (an essential mineral) and glutamate (an amino acid, which is a protein building block), are necessary for your body to function, “the hype about how it is not good for you isn’t totally grounded in science,” she says. “I do believe…it’s benign to eat based on typical consumption level.”
Dr. Alan suspects that prejudice played a significant role in the 1960s-onward backlash toward MSG (and, by extension, Chinese food). Yes, soy sauce may be high in MSG, but, Dr. Lee points out, parm is, too—and Italian cuisine has hardly been subjected to the same degree of scrutiny and stigma. In Dr. Alan’s opinion, the hysteria “was driven in part through bad science and xenophobia,” she says. “In 2026, MSG is perfectly fine for the vast majority of people in moderation.”
Per the FASEB report, a small subgroup of otherwise healthy people (less than 1% of the population, according to Harvard Health) may be sensitive to MSG and more likely to experience side effects as a result. However, Dr. Lee emphasizes this is the case with many foods and ingredients: More people have trouble digesting dairy (around 36% of Americans) or peanuts (one to 2% of Americans), for context. And even the existence of MSG sensitivity itself has been disputed, as the placebo effect is thought to come into play to some extent.
How much is safe to eat?
While the FDA doesn’t appear to have set a recommended MSG intake limit, the European Food Safety Authority revised nutrition standards in 2017 to recommend a maximum of 30 milligrams (mg) per kilogram of body weight per day. In case you need a reference point, that would shake out to around 2,700 mg (or almost three grams) of MSG for a 200-pound person, according to Dr. Alan. That “is quite a bit,” she says—so much so that it would actually be hard to hit that amount in the course of a normal 24 hours of eating. Per the FDA, an average adult’s daily added MSG intake hovers around 0.55 grams—significantly below that threshold. Take it from the EU Food Safety Platform: 30 milligrams per kilogram “is significantly more than you would normally consume on a regular basis.”
