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ABSTRACT
Appetite. 2002 Aug;39(1):25-33.
Does information about MSG (monosodium glutamate) content influence
consumer ratings of soups with and without added MSG?
Prescott J., Young A.
Sensory Science Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin,
New Zealand. john.prescott@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
Responses to recent concerns about perceived adverse health effects of
monosodium glutamate (MSG) have included using prominent labels, e.g.,
"No added MSG", on products. Label information has been shown to create
expectations for a food's sensory properties and acceptability, and influence
evaluations of the product. To assess the impact of information about MSG
content, subjects evaluated saltiness, richness, natural taste of, and liking for,
vegetable soups with (MSG+) and without (MSG-) added MSG. Their attitudes to
MSG were evaluated and found to be generally negative. Subjects tasted both
soups under three information conditions, presented as an ingredient list:
contains added MSG, does not contain added MSG, or no mention of MSG. The
expected changes in liking and sensory properties due to added MSG were found,
but there were no effects of information. A second experiment used a more obvious
manipulation of information on added MSG content, as well as two soup flavors to
reduce the obvious differences between the MSG+ and MSG- soups. Again, there were
no effects of information. These data suggest that sensory properties are weighted
more than information when products are evaluated during tasting, even when the
information is highly relevant to beliefs and attitudes.
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