News
Govt. steps in to limit MSG use
Many eateries here use MSG profusely to make fast food such as kottu tastier
Indiscriminate use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) by Sri Lankans in kitchens and on farmland has prompted the Health Ministry to limit MSG imports.
The Health Ministry said imports of MSG (commonly known as Ajinomoto) had grown over the years due to excessive use of the product in restaurants, takeaway food outlets and household kitchens. It is also now being used in large quantities as a weedkiller by farmers.
Investigations revealed the ban on imports of the herbicide, glyphosphate, has resulted in the surge in use of MSG on farmland.
The government last June introduced a ban on glyphosphate to stem the increasing number of patients with kidney diseases in farming communities in the North Western and North Central provinces.
Importers said there has been a steep rise in demand for MSG since mid-year in 2015. Lanka Food Limited, a leading importer of MSG with a large sales network throughout the country, said the product is moving fast in rural areas.
Lanka Food’s Manager, S. Bala, said the company imports a minimum 150 metric tonnes a month.
With three other players in the market it is estimated that massive loads of up to 7,000 metric tonnes flood the market every year.
Health Ministry Director-General Palitha Mahipala said in keeping with the advice of the Expert Food Advisory Committee the ministry has decided to ban the product for use on the land and in food. He said the ban is being carried out gradually and is in its initial stages. Farmers will have no more access to the product.
Dr. Mahipala said the government was concerned about the profuse use of the product as a herbicide and insecticide. “Any chemical consumed in huge amounts is harmful to the body,” he said.
The All-Ceylon Peasants Union leader, Namal Karunaratne, welcomes the MSG ban.
He said after glyphosphate was banned a farmer searching for a substitute weedkiller had accidentally used a concoction of soap, MSG and water and had found that it immediately destroyed weeds.
“If weeds can die, imagine what the effect would be on human beings,” Mr. Karunaratne said.
The Health Ministry is also attempting to make food outlets limit the use of MSG through the issue of permits. Accordingly, hotels and eating houses are expected to forward estimates of the quantity needed annually for food preparation, together with other details including the number of customers eating MSG-added food.
On receiving the information, Dr. Mahipala said, a letter will be issued to importing and distributing companies with the aim of controlling over-use of MSG.
“The permits will limit imports, and the non-availability of MSG will slowly stop the craze. We need discipline,” he said.
Plans are also underway to ban retail sales of the product in the market in order to minimise, if not altogether stop, MSG use in household kitchens.
However, he said a grace period of at least two months will be given to importers to phase out their imports. He said that the decision has been taken by the expert food advisory committee who have reviewed the use of MSG in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Janaki Gooneratne, former president of the Sri Lanka Nutrition Society, said MSG is not harmful if used sparingly: only a pinch should be added. “But,” she said, “our eateries and takeaway food outlets use the ingredient profusely in order to make their food tasty. They add several teaspoons full to prepare curry or rice. That’s overdoing it,” she said.
She cautioned that there are people who are sensitive to MSG and for whom excess intake can cause adverse reaction. “It is called the ‘Chinese restaurant syndrome’,” she said.
Dr. Gooneratne said MSG was only a flavor, not a nutrient, and that yeast had a similar flavour and could be used as an alternative. “The industries know about this and they can substitute yeast for MSG. It is a matter of adapting to change,” she said.
She stressed the importance of labelling food to avoid consumption of the product in other forms. “Even snacks and takeaway food should be monitored,” she added.
Taj Samudra Hotel Executive Chef Dhaitiya Kawage, supported the move to ban MSG. “I am against artificial flavouring. I do not use MSG in my dishes. My flavours are all natural,” he said.
He said MSG, to his knowledge, had an adverse impact on the health and can damage brain cells. He urged housewives to follow their grandmas’ recipes which used no artificial flavouring in food preparation. “Use spices – we have enough of them in Sri Lanka,” he added.
Dimuthu Kumarasinghe, President of the Chefs’ Guild of Sri Lanka, a celebrity chef working for Aitken Spence, said he does not sanction the use of MSG in food preparation. “I joined Aitken Spence hotels as a progress chef in 2000 and I am in charge of 27 hotels now,” he said.
Small restaurants and eating-places are the culprits who use several spoonfuls of MSG in food preparation, he said. “A pinch is more than enough,” he said, but urged, “Instead, use soya sauce or fish sauce – these are good flavours”.
Nestle Lanka Corporate Communication Manager Samantha Mendis, while admitting that MSG is used in some Maggi food products, said Nestle was phasing out MSG.
“We have already removed it from our Maggi Chicken Noodles and Maggi Curry Noodles. The rest of our Maggi food range will follow suit shortly,” she said.
She went on to say that Nestle Lanka would abide by the government’s decision on the importation and use of MSG. “Compliance with regulations is non-negotiable for Nestlé,” she added.
| Search for effective weedkiller There is no immediate plan to substitute any other herbicide for glyphosphate, which was banned in June last year, Ministry of Agriculture Secretary B. Wijeratne said. He said experts were split on whether to have toxin-free cultivation or use a chemical compound to remove weeds. Some companies had proposed the import of alternative herbicides and these suggestions were being examined, Mr. Wijeratne said. A committee had been set up to look into the feasibility of importing a substitute weedkiller to replace gyphosphate. |