{
  "$schema": "https://foodadditiveindex.com/api/v1/schema.json",
  "id": "https://foodadditiveindex.com/additives/monosodium-l-glutamate",
  "slug": "monosodium-l-glutamate",
  "name": "Monosodium L-glutamate",
  "identifiers": {
    "e_number": null,
    "ins_number": "621",
    "cas_number": "6106-04-3",
    "inchikey": "FMGRPEQSMWQKHM-QTNFYWBSSA-N",
    "pubchem_cid": 87090819
  },
  "functional_class": "Flavour enhancer",
  "summary": "Monosodium glutamate is the best known flavour enhancer, giving the savoury taste called umami. Glutamate occurs naturally in tomatoes, cheese and mushrooms; MSG is the isolated sodium salt of the same compound.",
  "derivation_summary": "Produced by fermenting a carbohydrate feedstock — usually sugar cane molasses, beet or starch — with Corynebacterium bacteria, then neutralising with sodium and crystallising. It has not been made from wheat gluten commercially for decades, despite the name.",
  "regulatory_status": [
    {
      "jurisdiction": "US",
      "jurisdiction_name": "United States",
      "authority": "Food and Drug Administration",
      "status": "not_listed",
      "status_label": "Not listed",
      "note": "Does not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.",
      "provision_count": 0,
      "provisions": []
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "CODEX",
      "jurisdiction_name": "Codex Alimentarius",
      "authority": "Codex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA",
      "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
      "status_label": "Permitted, with conditions",
      "provision_count": 12,
      "provisions": [
        {
          "status": "permitted",
          "food_category": null,
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": null,
          "effective_from": "1999",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 621",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "04.2.2.1",
            "name": "Frozen vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds and nuts and seeds"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 201 & XS320",
          "effective_from": "2024",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 04.2.2.1",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "04.2.2.7",
            "name": "Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1,"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 279",
          "effective_from": "2014",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 04.2.2.7",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "06.4.2",
            "name": "Dried pastas and noodles and like products"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 256",
          "effective_from": "2014",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 06.4.2",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "08.1",
            "name": "Fresh meat, poultry, and game"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 16",
          "effective_from": "2014",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 08.1",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "09.2.1",
            "name": "Frozen fish, fish fillets, and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 95, XS36, XS92, XS95, XS165, XS190, XS191, XS292, XS312 & XS315",
          "effective_from": "2017",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 09.2.1",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "09.2.2",
            "name": "Frozen battered fish, fish fillets and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 41",
          "effective_from": "2015",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 09.2.2",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "09.2.3",
            "name": "Frozen minced and creamed fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 311",
          "effective_from": "2015",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 09.2.3",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "09.2.4",
            "name": "Cooked and/or fried fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 312",
          "effective_from": "2015",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 09.2.4",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "09.2.5",
            "name": "Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 29, 313, XS167, XS189, XS236, XS244 & XS311",
          "effective_from": "2018",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 09.2.5",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "12.1.2",
            "name": "Salt substitutes"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": null,
          "effective_from": "2015",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 12.1.2",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted_with_conditions",
          "food_category": {
            "system": "codex",
            "code": "14.1.5",
            "name": "Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa"
          },
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": "GMP",
          "conditions": "GSFA notes: 201",
          "effective_from": "2015",
          "citation": {
            "ref": "CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 621, food category 14.1.5",
            "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/"
          },
          "source": "gsfa",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "names": [
    {
      "name": "6106-04-3",
      "type": "cas",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "L(+)-Monosodium glutamate monohydrate",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "L-Glutamic acid monosodium salt monohydrate",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "L-Glutamic acid monosodium salt monohydrate, >=98.0% (NT)",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "L-Glutamic acid monosodium salt monohydrate, p.a., 99.0%",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "L-Glutamic acid monosodium salt monohydrate, SAJ special grade, >=99.0%",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "L-glutamic acid, sodium salt hydrate",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "Monosodium glutamate, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "MONOSODIUM L-GLUTAMATE",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "gsfa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sodium glutamate monohydrate",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "SodiuM L-GlutaMate Monohydrate",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "621",
      "type": "ins",
      "source": "gsfa"
    },
    {
      "name": "sodium (2S)-2-amino-4-carboxybutanoate hydrate",
      "type": "iupac",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    }
  ],
  "hazard_reference_values": [
    {
      "type": "ADI",
      "value": 30,
      "value_text": null,
      "unit": "mg/kg bw/day",
      "population": "consumers",
      "assessing_body": "EFSA",
      "year": null,
      "opinion": null
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "key": "gsfa",
      "name": "Codex General Standard for Food Additives (CXS 192-1995)",
      "publisher": "Codex Alimentarius Commission (FAO/WHO)",
      "licence": "FAO terms — non-commercial use with attribution",
      "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/dbs/gsfa/en/",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T07:54:15.059Z"
    }
  ],
  "citation_policy": "Cite as: Food Additive Index, \"Monosodium L-glutamate\", https://foodadditiveindex.com/additives/monosodium-l-glutamate. This site reports regulatory status and does not rate additives.",
  "generated_at": "2026-09-08T00:09:38.604Z"
}