Warning of glutamate in food

Often glutamate in foods „without flavor enhancers“

27/06/2011

The flavor enhancer glutamate triggers in many people significant health problems such as headache, redness and nausea, even vomiting. Therefore, individuals with glutamate intolerance are urgently dependent on labeling of food products. But the labeling „without flavor enhancers“ According to the Consumer Protection Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Alexander Bonde (Alliance 90 / The Greens), customers often mislead rather than contribute to the protection against possible health consequences.

The Consumer Protection Ministry of Baden-Württemberg has assisted in the investigation of 42 labeled food products „without flavor enhancers“ found that most of the products contained glutamate. Although the tested foods did not contain any artificial glutamate, they often contained flavor enhancers from yeast or yeast extract, with a high natural content of glutamic acid, according to the Baden-Württemberg Minister of Consumer Protection. Consumers should therefore be advised to study the contents very thoroughly when gluten intolerance is present and to pay attention to the use of yeast or yeast extracts, since natural glutamate can also lead to the aforementioned health problems.

Most of the foods tested contained glutamate
Although all tested foods are clearly as „without flavor enhancers“ The experts of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Consumer Protection have identified yeast or yeast extracts with a high natural glutamic acid content in 31 of the 42 tested foods. Although none of the products contained the artificial flavor enhancer glutamate E 620, but often was the name „without flavor enhancers“ Given the high content of yeast and yeast extracts for consumers rather misleading, said the Consumer Protection Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Alexander Bonde. Because in case of doubt threatened by the glutamic acid contained the same health impairments, as in the artificial glutamate. In the investigation of the Ministry of Consumer Protection Baden-Württemberg, both biological and conventional food products - despite contrary labeling - contain flavor enhancers. Tomato products have also been used as flavor enhancers, reports the consumer protection minister. Since a large part of the investigated ready meals and dry soups contained glutamate, the name should be mentioned here „without artificial flavor enhancers“ more appropriate, the Baden-Württemberg consumer protection minister at the presentation of Ökomonitoring report on Monday in Stuttgart. Bonde advised consumers to thoroughly study the contents of food products.

Minimize health risk by controlling the contents
For those affected, the casual approach of food producers is often a nuisance with which they have to deal with in everyday life. Because companies often seem to do little to ensure that the ingredients contained in the product are presented in an exact manner. This is now confirmed in the labeling „without flavor enhancers“. That people with a glutamate intolerance through the consumption of the products may suffer from health problems such as redness, massive headache or nausea, obviously plays no role in the manufacturer's information used for advertising purposes. Since the current information from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Consumer Protection is unlikely to cause any changes on the part of the companies, the affected consumers will ultimately only have to scrutinize the contents in order to track hidden flavor enhancers and avoid health problems. (Fp)

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