Off-topic on food: Lithuanian consumers don't have to know this?
The company called "Palink" (as far as I know, it belongs to the IKI supermarket chain) seems to be, consciously or unconsciously, hiding the existence of a harmful chemical in one of its imported products, namely, canned shrimp. I noticed it myself as I was going to use the product.
The Lithuanian ingredient list is the following: "Sudėtis: lukštentos krevetės (180 vnt. ir daugiau), vanduo, druska, cukrus, rūgštingumą reguliuojanti medžiaga E330, antioksidantai: E223, E685 (natrio disulfitas)." It lists the shrimp, of course, salt, sugar, and three ingredients marked with E, which people often view with caution.
The producer's French version of the ingredient list, stamped on the can, is the following: "Ingredients: 180 crevettes et plus, eau, sel, sucre, exhausteurs de gout: E621 (glutamate monosodique), acidifiant: E330, antioxygennes: E223, E685".
I don't know if the importer is concsiously hiding the fact that the product contains harmful monosodium glutamate (E621), which causes light forms of addiction, distorts the sense of taste, may cause obesity and is thus not recommended for children. Most people usually don't know what side-effects E621 produces. However, a few months ago there was an article about it on Delfi, the most popular news portal, so quite some people must have read it.
I can never memorise the codes for all of the harmful chemicals, but I try to avoid those that I know. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to avoid E621 if you like herring or chilli nuts.
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It is also basically impossible to avoid MSG when you decide to go out to eat, I guess most of the restaurants and cafes use it for enhancing the taste of meat, not only chinese restaurants.
I remember in netherlands MSG was sold in grocery stores just next to salt and was commonly used in homemade cooking as well (especially among students :))
And I guess there's no need to worry about the effects of MSG, when not consumed in ridiculously huge amounts. So far studies have only shown that it might be related to BMI, but that might just be so because the food tastes so good with MSG, that you just want more and more... so far this effect hasn't worked on me though
But otherwise I wanted to say that I'm a devoted reader of your blog and enjoy your posts a lot.
cheers
Aare
Sorry, but what's MSG?
MSG - MonoSodium Glutamate
mild addiction? altered sense of taste? obesity? those are all just the side-effects of yummy food
MSG as we call it in the USA works by making the molecules of the food hold closer together on your tongue, increasing the taste. It's very common in the states in Asian foods and Chinese resturants, especially cheap ones. Many people, especially Jews and Africans are allergic to it but the severity of the reaction varies tremendously. My Dad doesn't notice it, my Mom gets a migraine headach from eating it (not fun) and I get a little sick when eating but generally can take it in small amounts. Because it makes so many Jews sick it's basically never put in kosher food, although there's nothing unkosher about it. Until recently it was never noted in ingredients in resturants in the US. Now many resturants advertise that they don't use it, especially Chinese resturants. Unfortunately many Chinese resturants in black neighborhoods use it and people get sick but eventually build up a tolerance to it that causes them to go through withdrawl when they don't eat it regularly. People often know that it's the cheap Chinese food that's doing it and in my neighborhood it's common when someone gets sick for them to be asked if they haven't had Chinese food in a long time. A lot of people don't actually realize what they're addicted to. I wonder if Lithuanians tend to be allergic to it like Jews. It's been a staple of cheap Chinese food here for decades but you rarely see it outside of instant food if the food isn't Asian food (it's in canned seafood a lot too). How long has it been in the food in Lithuania? I can't imagine it's been there very long. I don't know how dangerous it is but it's certainly addictive, screws with your tastebuds and makes certain people, especially of specific ethnic groups sick.
MSG has little to no effect on adults. When you think that glutamate is an essential amino acid, it's hard to conceive that something the human body needs is bad. There are reports of bad effects on children, but once they are developed, glutamate doesn't pass the brain-blood-barrier.
MSG is in so many foods that are in the shop that you really can't avoid it, even if it really did get you sick. They sell it in groceries as "accent" in the US.
Unless specifically mentioned on the menu, every chinese (and almost every other) restaurant uses it in some form, whether it is pure or in spice mixes or other ingredients.
The former soviet union was the world's largest importer of MSG.
Oh yeah, Palink is the company that owns Iki.
Hi Mike, i suggest you see Dr Russell Blaylock videos on Google video and Sweet Misery in youtube. MSG makes people increase their apetite in 40%,and yes, glutamate DOES pass the brain-blood-barrier.Besides other neurological problems.