Reader Q: Hi Katie! Do you eat vegemite? Or is it just a jar full of MSG? I thought you might be the person to give a no-crap answer to the question! K180 A: Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) provides the following information: How do I know if MSG is in a food? In Australia and New Zealand, no food additive — including MSG — is approved for use in food until its safety has been establishe d by FSANZ. MSG and other glutamates are among a group of food additives that are generally permitted in foods, due to their safety. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Standard 1.2.4 — Labelling of Ingredients, means packaged food must declare the presence of MSG or any other flavour enhancers as “flavour enhancer” followed by their name or number as follows: 620 L -glutamic acid 621 Monosodium glutamate, L- 622 Monopotassium glutamate, L- 623 Calcium glutamate, Di-L- 624 Monoammonium glutamate, L- 625 Magnesium glutamate, Di-L- 627 Disodium guanylate, 5’- 631 Disodium inosinate, 5’- 635 Disodium ribonucleotides, 5’- There is no requirement in restaurants and cafés to declare the presence of thes e additives. If you believe you are sensitive to them you should ask if they are being used. The owner should be able to tell you whether they are used. Sensitive individuals should also be aware that high amounts of glutamates may be present naturally in certain food. Examples of foods naturally high in glutamates include: xHard cheeses like parmesan xTomato concentrates and sauces xStocks cubes and concentrates xSauces such as soy, fish, oyster etc xSpreads such as Vegemite®, Promite®, Marmite® etc. xFoods containing added Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) The Kraft website tells us nothing: Q.1 What is VEGEMITE made from? A. The ingredients in VEGEMITE have not changed since it was first introduced in 1923. Our recipe is a closely guarded secret, however we can tell you its full of B vitamins, contains virtually no fat, and contributes almost no kilojoules to the diet. Yes, yes very well then no kilojoules pfft whatever howzabout the thick buttered toast 99% of the population shmear it on? Ha ha. Ok, so a quick check of the jar in my pantry and the ingredients are: Yeast extract (from yeast grown on barley and wheat), salt, mineral salt (508), malt extract (from barley) colour (150c), flavours, niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, folate. Ahhh, flavours well theres the MSG innit? flavour isnt regulated here in Oz so they can come from anywhere. Glutamate (the G in MSG) is an excitatory transmitter in the central nervous system and I think that if you were to inject it into your bloodstream youd find some pretty profound effects but a scrape of Vegemite on toast a few times a week ought to be hunky dory. If you prefer to err on the side of caution because you have concerns about the MSG in Vegemite then thats hunky dory too. So DO I eat Vegemite? Well yes theres a jar of it in my pantry but I shit you not I buy no more than 1 or 2 per year as were not regular consumers. My hubby is South African so its not a childhood favourite, he prefers marmalade or apricot jam on toast and Scarlett loathes Vegemite. Occasionally I like a thick sourdough toasted, spread with butter, then Vegemite then lashed with avocado. GOOD SHIT. Cheers Happy Little Vegemites! Kx
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 11:52:41 +0000
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