Monosodium glutamate (MSG; E621)

Safety Summary

Regulatory Status

Sources

No citations are recorded specifically for the human adult context, so the record-wide source list is shown. It backs the record, not this particular band.

• MSG E621 CAS 142-47-2 L-Glutamate Sodium Salt C5H8NNaO4 Umami T1R1+T1R3 GPCR; EFSA 2017 ADI 30 mg/kg/day First Numerical Glutamate ADI EFSA Journal 2017;15(7):4910 Animal Toxicology Not CRS; FDA GRAS 21 CFR 182.1 ADI Not Specified Historical; Ikeda 1908 Kombu Umami T1R1 T1R3; Kwok 1968 NEJM Letter Chinese Restaurant Syndrome Unblinded Self-Report; FASEB 1995 FDA-Commissioned No CRS ≥3g Aqueous Not Food Dose; Shi 2016 Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr Meta-Analysis No Double-Blind Replication; Nocebo Expectation Bias; Blood-Brain Barrier Excludes Peripheral Glutamate Normal BBB Function; Olney 1969 Subcutaneous 1-4g/kg Mice Irrelevant Oral; Natural: Parmesan 1200 Soy Sauce 1100 Anchovies 630 Marmite 1400 mg/100g; Corynebacterium Glutamicum Fermentation 3.5M Tonnes/Year; IMP GMP Synergy Umami Amplification REGULATORY · 2017
• EFSA reviews safety of glutamates added to food | EFSA REGULATORY
• identity database ECHA CHEM, Download all substances: REACH registrations (ECHA's own list of REACH-registered substances) REGULATORY · 2026
• where to look PubChem: Toxicity section (CID 23689119) PUBCHEM
• Computational Toxicology and Exposure APIs: Data Domains (EPA CCTE) REGULATORY
• CompTox Chemicals Dashboard: Release Notes (EPA) REGULATORY
• PubChem computed properties for CID 23689119 (computed, not measured; as recorded by PubChem) DATABASE · 2026
• where to look EPA ECOTOX Knowledgebase ASCII release ecotox_ascii_09_15_2026 DATABASE
• OEHHA Proposition 65 List of Carcinogens or Reproductive Toxicants (CSV, list date 31-Jul-26) REGULATORY
• Permissible Exposure Limits – OSHA Annotated Table Z-1 REGULATORY
• where to look CAMEO Chemicals, as recorded by PubChem (Experimental Properties, CID 23689119; where-to-look, not a source of this value) DATABASE · 2026
• where to look Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), as recorded by PubChem (Experimental Properties, CID 23689119; where-to-look, not a source of this value) DATABASE · 2026
• EPA CompTox CTX API: predicted properties for DTXSID9020906 (Monosodium glutamate (MSG; E621)) REFERENCE
• PubChem computed structure descriptors for CID 23689119 (computed, not measured; as recorded by PubChem) DATABASE · 2026

Same data as the API response, which is open and needs no key. The full per-record source list is available to authenticated callers.