News

Nov 18, 2023

Are additives like MSG and aspartame still health baddies?

A few years back, before we were talking gluten and weighing up Paleo, we were

A few years back, before we were talking gluten and weighing up Paleo, we were mainly obsessed with additives in our food. And the big ones to watch were aspartame and MSG. So whatever happened to those concerns, and where do we stand on those ingredients now?

Well the fears and arguments against them can still be heard, if you listen in. Just recently, pop star Taylor Swift came under fire for endorsing Diet Coke – a product that uses aspartame as an artificial sweetener.

Last month, US consumer group the Center for Science in the Public Interest released an open letter to Swift, warning that while endorsing Diet Coke is better than regular Coke, aspartame has caused cancer in animals.

It's easy to get bogged down in the he-said-she-said, but here's where we stand in New Zealand, according to the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation (NZNF), and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

ASPARTAME

What is it?

A sugar-free sweetener, 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has been used as a sugar replacement for more than 25 years.

What's in it?

It's made up of the amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid, plus a small amount of methanol.

What's it in?

Diet soft drinks, diet yoghurt, chewing gums, low-calorie sweeteners and calorie-reduced foods.

How can I tell?

It'll be in the ingredients as aspartame or as E951.

What's the worry?

The concern has largely been around the production of methanol when aspartame is broken down in the body.

Is it safe?

The amount of methanol produced is actually pretty small and often, it's less than you'd get from foods in which methanol occurs naturally, eg. bananas, citrus fruit and some vegetables.

Women would need to drink about 15 cans of a sugar-free drink containing aspartame a day before reaching New Zealand's acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame, and men even more.

The research:

FSANZ, the Food and Agricultural Organisation/World Health Organisation joint expert committee on food additives (JECFA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) all deem aspartame, at it's current ADI, to be safe.

2003: FSANZ study showed, on average, New Zealanders reached only 4 per cent of the ADI, with the higher end of the scale peaking at 13 per cent of the ADI.

2010: Two studies done, including one showed life expectancy in mice remained unchanged following a lifetime of daily exposure to aspartame.

2011: EFSA evaluated these studies and said they didn't give any reason to reconsider previous safety assessments of aspartame.

2013: EFSA announced it had completed its full risk assessment on aspartame and concluded it is safe at current levels of exposure.

MSG

What is it?

Monosodium L-glutamate (MSG). It's what gives things that delicious meaty or savoury taste.

What's it in?

Glutamates are added to many processed foods as flavour enhancers, but also occur naturally in almost all foods, including meat, fish, vegetables and mushrooms – even breast milk. There is no chemical difference between added and naturally-occurring glutamate.

How can I tell?

When added, MSG will be labelled as: flavour enhancer (MSG), or flavour enhancer (621). Other glutamate additives will have code numbers 622-625. However, when they occur naturally, they don't need to be labelled – same goes if it's takeaway/restaurant/fast food.

So is it safe?

According to FSANZ, "the overwhelming evidence from a large number of scientific studies is that MSG is safe for the general population at the levels typically incorporated into various foods". So in short: yes.

However:

A few people may experience a mild hypersensitivity-type reaction if they down large amounts of MSG in a single meal. Reactions vary but may include headaches, numbness/tingling, flushing, muscle tightness and general weakness, but normally pass quickly without any long-lasting effects.

WHAT OTHER OPTIONS ARE THERE?

Alternatives to aspartame-based sweeteners:

Stevia

Can be used as an unrefined green powder, a refined white crystalline powder or liquid drops. It's 300 times sweeter than sugar and has zero impact on blood glucose.

Xylitol

Usually produced from corn, it's as sweet as sugar and has a glycaemic index (GI) of 7, so it's suitable for diabetics and also good for your teeth, because it inhibits plaque formation. Warning though, too much xylitol may have a laxative effect.

Erythritol

Often blended with stevia, it's a sugar alcohol that occurs naturally in some fruits and fermented foods. It's about 70 per cent of the sweetness of sugar and less likely to have gastric side effects.

Agave nectar (or syrup)

A good vegan alternative from the Mexican or South African agave cactus. It has a GI of 14, so it's acceptable for diabetics in small amounts only.

Alternatives to MSG:

MSG's primary function is to stimulate the savoury taste factor. So many foods can enhance the flavours of cooking, such as seaweeds, red wine and nuts. Plus cooking methods like roasting, stewing and braising help to break down the naturally occurring glutamate which enhances the flavour.