Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 236: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her plans to ban the use of monosodium glutamate in foods; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20955/05]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Monosodium glutamate, MSG, food additive No. E621, is the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid, which occurs naturally in the body. As a substance added to food, its main function is as a flavour-enhancing agent, it is not used as a preservative. It is sold as a fine white crystal substance, similar in appearance to salt or sugar, which does not have a distinct taste of its own. Food additive uses of MSG include its incorporation into food and its use as a condiment. MSG has been authorised for use in all member states of the European Union including Ireland, under Directive No. 95/2/EC on food additives other than colours and sweeteners, following a rigorous safety assessment by the EU Scientific Committee on Food, SCF. It has also been evaluated by other national and international food safety organisations, including the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, JECFA, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and the US Food and Drug Administration. These organisations have all placed MSG in the safest category of food ingredients and have allocated it no specific acceptable daily intake, ADI. A food additive is only allocated an ADI "not specified" when, on the basis of the available scientific data, the total intake of the substance following consumption of a typical diet will not represent a hazard to health. If an additive is deemed acceptable for food use, an acceptable daily intake, ADI, is normally set. The concept of the ADI was established by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, JECFA, and is defined as, "an estimate of the amount of food additive, expressed on a body weight basis, that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable health risk". Directive 95/2/EC is implemented in Ireland by the European Union (Food Additives other than Colours and Sweeteners) Regulations, S.I. No. 613 of 2002.

The European Commission has carried out a survey of dietary food additive intake in the European Union, the results of which were reported in October 2001. Ireland took part in this survey, the Irish estimates of food additive intake being provided by the Irish universities nutrition alliance, at the request of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. However, MSG was not among the additives surveyed, since in a priority-setting exercise the Commission decided to exclude additives with ADIs "not specified" allocated by the SCF from the monitoring exercise on the basis that these did not represent a hazard to health. Reflecting the conclusion that MSG is placed in the safest category of food ingredients, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland does not plan any further survey of MSG in the near future.

The scientific data on MSG do not support the conclusion that many people are seriously allergic to this ingredient in food. Were this the case, MSG would not have been approved as a food additive in the European Union or have been allocated an ADI "not specified". It is however recognised that some individuals are sensitive to the presence of MSG, and may have mild and transitory reactions when they eat foods that contain large amounts of MSG, such as would be found in heavily flavour-enhanced foods. Because MSG is commonly used in Chinese cuisine, these reactions were initially referred to as "Chinese restaurant syndrome". This reaction can occur about 20 minutes after a food containing MSG is eaten. However, the cause of this syndrome remains in doubt. Foodstuffs such as pizza and lasagne or spaghetti contain more glutamate and sodium than Chinese meals made with added MSG, leading to the conclusion that glutamate cannot be the primary cause of reactions to Chinese foods.

The scientific data on MSG also do not support any restrictions on its use. Under the harmonised EU legislation on food additives other than colours and sweeteners, Ireland would have to provide specific justification for a restriction of use for foods placed on the Irish market, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland does not consider that there are scientific grounds for such a restriction.