On toxic ingredients

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/25/2007 1:33 PM | Opinion

I initially became interested in Lidwina's letter concerning Chinese Food (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 10) and her statements regarding toxic and potentially toxic ingredients in Chinese cooking.

While Lidwina is right to assert improperly applied ingredients such as borax and formaldehyde have no place in food preparation, the assertion that studies have cleared Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) as a potentially toxic food additive is misguided.

No study has provided a clear demonstration that MSG as a food additive is either harmful or safe. The fact is that MSG is still being researched to understand what effect the rise in serum glutamate will have post-MSG consumption. It is very true that formaldehyde and borax have no place in food preparation. Sadly, some illegitimate businesses do use formaldehyde, a known carcinogen and banned from use in food.

This reality only highlights the necessity to establish and adequately fund food inspection programs in every developed nation, especially those nations involved in food production and exportation.

Truth be told, many people since Kwok's time have been diagnosed with MSG Symptom Complex, as supported by research, but these are merely a small percentage of the population. The term ""Chinese Restaurant Syndrome"" has never been utilized in the research community and is known only to exist in long-running urban legends regarding Chinese food.

Glutamate is common in many foods such as Parmesan cheese, peas, and meat. Research has indicated that dietary levels of glutamate, included those currently used as additives to food, have shown no significant health risk and as such MSG is not considered a toxic food substance by the US Food and Drug Administration.

However, this does not alleviate MSG of its possibly complicity in food-borne illnesses. MSG is still a subject of a great deal of research. Many studies have demonstrated toxicity in laboratory animals when MSG was ingested at high levels.

Without sufficient research, one could never adequately determine what caused Kwok's symptoms but one thing is absolutely for certain, one cannot predict the potential effects on one's physiology when any chemically derived additive is consumed.

The only true safeguard for food safety is adequately funded and established oversight of food production and distribution, not the reliance on urban legend or anecdotal, word-of-mouth evidence.

ROBERT TURNER
Jakarta

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