Monosodium glutamate (E621)

Monosodium glutamate (E621) is one of the markers Open Food Facts uses to classify a food as ultra-processed (NOVA group 4).

What it is and why it counts

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.

Cosmetic additives

NOVA calls these additives "cosmetic": they change how a product looks, feels or tastes rather than keeping it safe to eat. Their presence is one of the two defining signs of an ultra-processed food.

Function

Flavour enhancer: Flavour enhancers are substances which enhance the existing taste and/or odour of a foodstuff.

Functional class definitions from the EU food additives regulation, via Open Food Facts.

More about monosodium glutamate (E621) on Wikidata

Where it turns up

Monosodium glutamate (E621) appears in 648 of the 40,000 products on this site (2%).

Instant noodles 100 of 242 products
Corn chips 64 of 359 products
Crisps 36 of 1,471 products
Stacked extruded potato crisps 28 of 48 products
Instant noodle soups 23 of 37 products
Potato crisps 21 of 622 products

Products containing monosodium glutamate (E621)

Showing the 60 most popular of 648.

How the NOVA classification works