Just How Much Msg Do The Pizza Company Use?

[phaethon]

After 751 days in LOS I finally caved and ordered online a Pizza Company Meat Deluxe 6-slice.

Not particularity spicy, I remember it seemed a little 'salty'. By the half-way mark though, my mouth felt like I had been chewing broken glass, roof and tongue raw and uncomfortable to continue . Then I had an attack of the sleepies, almost overwhelming need to sleep. Too late to nap and too early to go to bed without wrecking my sleep cycle I struggled through to bedtime with cold showers and woke late the next day feeling awful. Reeling, dizzy fatigue and lethargy, one trip to Carrefour left me in napping mode for the rest of the day - four times, a personal record.

No headache, as I have had before with certain Chinese takeouts in the UK, but checking online I find some reports of fatigue after too much MSG.

So, just how much MSG does it take to almost anaesthetize a full-(over)-grown adult? Anyone else experienced this and put it down to MSG? Or is one of the 'deluxe' topping sprinkled roofies?

[britmaveric]

Dunno chicken trio is to die for... one tastier pizzas around.

[Ulysses G.]

Anyone else experienced this and put it down to MSG?

No, but that is probably why they taste better than most pizzas in Thailand (which is not saying a lot).

[lomatopo]

It almost sounds as though you had some sort of allergic reaction or food poisoning (with many varieties the symptoms can be different) ? You could probably ask Pizza Company for a list of ingredients. Have you ever had this type of reaction before? If you eat Thai food, other than that which you prepare, you are getting a ton of Ajinomoto, Salt, Sugar and oil. After 4 or 5 meals I start to get the Ajinomoto headache (throbbing, left-side) and need to detox for a few days. I've never eaten had a Pizza Company pie as they look a bit scary to me, but am wondering what they use the Ajinomoto for? The sauce? The meat?

[RudieTheFoodie]

dude..

som nam na for ordering pizza hut...

Basilico? Bella Napoli? Big Pizza? Scoozi Pizza? Pizza Mania? Mafiosi Pizza? Pizza Patio?

Just a few you should try before giving up on pizza in bangkok!

[coutsa]

I love Pizza company and dont think I have ever experienced anything like that!

[Spoonman]

Dunno chicken trio is to die for... one tastier pizzas around.

+1, I love the chicken Trio pizza.

[angiud]

A meeting of pizza gourmets.

[xen]

I have only given Pizza company one try . I too get the lethagy and head spins, shortness of breath etc with too much MSG (and a migraine afterwards depending on the amount of MSG) so i just sit there until i feel okay again taking up their turnover of seats occupied. That was from some pasta dish and as for the pizza , i have never had a pizza base with so much sugar . Pizza made for the Thais. Never again for this little black duck.

[Ulysses G.]

Some people are so sensitive to MSG that all you have to do it mention it and they get all the symptoms.

[shaunoro]

Never had a problem with pizza company.

Msg does not like me, but no problem here.

[NanaFoods]

My wife and I experienced an "episode" with a Pizza Co. thin crust pizza while visiting Bangkok a year or so ago.

We both suffered from extreme thirst after eating the pizza.... more so than usual, I must emphasize.

Not sure whether is was an MSG overload or salt overload... but definitely one of the two.

At first we had chalked it up to to too much salt in the sauce... but now that someone else has brought this up, I recall the pizza didn't taste as salty as the effects we experienced. Usually if something is that salty, I'll notice it right off the bat. But we managed to get a couple pieces down before we felt the effects.

That, and I never would have thought of putting MSG in pizza !!

Is this true? Does Pizza Co. do that?

[sabaijai]

Sounds a lot like a carbo crash Eat less pizza and wait till it cools a bit first.

[phaethon]

Well, MSG was just the first suspect to come to mind. As I said I've had reactions the Chinese takeway before, but that involved a (mild) headache the next morning, but I did find some anecdotal (i.e. Internet) reports of fatigue attributed to MSG. The Mayo Clinic says all evidence of a range of MSG attributed reactions are just that, anecdotal - no one has established a link between MSG dose and headache, flushing, sweating,facial pressure or tightness, numbness, tingling or burning in face, neck and other areas, rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations), chest pain, nausea, weakness.

Carb. crash is a sudden drop in carbohydrates, can't see that being the case here. Can't find an association between sudden onset fatigue and plain salt either. I did work my way through 2l of very dilute blackcurrant cordial

Although I haven't eaten pizza before in Thailand, where the food is fit for humans, I practically had to live on it for a week in New Delhi last year with no similar ill effects (Pizza Hut there, not Pizza Co.)

Ajinomoto is the name of the Japanese company that first produced MSG as a food additive. MSG is 'their signature' product but they produce other additives, seasoning and oils.

Anyhoo...plenty of time to recover before the pizza urge hits again. Now, for next month's treat, someone in another thread mentioned 'UK-style kebabs'...

[Benjie]

OP - Sure you didnt add parmesan cheese, that has more glutomate than anything else on the planet.

Don't believe in the MSG paranoia myself.

[MAJIC]

Heres a link to the lowdown on MSG,

Can't understand why this stuff hasn't been banned for the last 4 or 5 decades.

http://www.blessedqu...heworld/msg.htm

[phaethon]

OP - Sure you didnt add parmesan cheese, that has more glutomate than anything else on the planet.

Nope, direct from box to face. I'd also stayed chatting in reception for a good half hour after delivery so it was by no means hot enough to burn my mouth either.

Don't believe in the MSG paranoia myself.

If there's another suspect, I'd like to hear about it.

[Benjie]

Heres a link to the lowdown on MSG,

Can't understand why this stuff hasn't been banned for the last 4 or 5 decades.

http://www.blessedqu...heworld/msg.htm

Hardly scientific its a bible preachers page.

Will they also be banning cheese, tomatoes, soy sauce and marmite?

[Ulysses G.]

MSG is contained in many foods naturally - not an added ingredient. A very few people are sensitive to it. For most folks any reaction - besides making food taste better - is purely imaginary.

[xen]

MSG is contained in many foods naturally - not an added ingredient. A very few people are sensitive to it. For most folks any reaction - besides making food taste better - is purely imaginary.

It is true that MSG is found natually in many foods such as tomatoes and shellfish. However, I understand there is a difference in chemical composition between natural MSG and the white granular stuff sold in supermarkets. I am not a chemist so i stand corrected if I am wrong on that point. And there are there are very conflicting scientific findings on MSG just as there are on Climate Change, Genetically modified foods, and until recently the dangers of tobacco. The relationship between MSG and asthma attack, migraine , gout, and other effects certainly needs more research. In my experience , the reactions are not imaginary but they do lessen the more MSG i do consume. I avoid MSG as much as possble and then if i do get an massive hit the symptoms appear - just like the headspin off a ciggarette after not having a ciggarette for some time.( I haven't smoked for over 20 years) .

I am not sure that the Pizza Company puts MSG in their pizzas but they certainly load up their pasta dishes with it. My head was already spinning by time i tried their pizza which contained so much sugar it was barely edible.

So UG, maybe you have had so much MSG in all your years in Thailand , you have become imune to the effects , but i can assure you that for some of us, the effects are not imaginary.

[lomatopo]

Ajinomoto is the name of the Japanese company that first produced MSG as a food additive. MSG is 'their signature' product but they produce other additives, seasoning and oils.

Correct, of course, but most Thai cooks refer to MSG as Ajinomoto and not MSG. If you ask them to not use any MSG they will not know what you are talking about, and then proceed to use plenty of Ajinomoto. No arguments that a little MSG is probably safe for most people, except perhaps children under say 9 years old, but in my observations some Thai cooks use tablespoons of salt and Ajinomoto in each dish. IME, dishes like Nam Tok get severely overloaded with Ajinomoto.

[phaethon]

Correct, of course, but most Thai cooks refer to MSG as Ajinomoto and not MSG. If you ask them to not use any MSG they will not know what you are talking about, and then proceed to use plenty of Ajinomoto. No arguments that a little MSG is probably safe for most people, except perhaps children under say 9 years old, but in my observations some Thai cooks use tablespoons of salt and Ajinomoto in each dish. IME, dishes like Nam Tok get severely overloaded with Ajinomoto.

Our receptionist called it ผงชูรส.

[Ulysses G.]

So UG, maybe you have had so much MSG in all your years in Thailand , you have become imune to the effects , but i can assure you that for some of us, the effects are not imaginary.

The studies are pretty conclusive that not many people are affected. However, I did say, "A very few people are sensitive to it".

[NanaFoods]

MSG is contained in many foods naturally - not an added ingredient. A very few people are sensitive to it. For most folks any reaction - besides making food taste better - is purely imaginary.

Nonsense.

Too much MSG for anyone will have noticeable effects.

I have never been "sensitive" to MSG... I would eat Chinese food and all sorts of processed foods that contain it with no problems....until I overdosed on it at a wedding meal here in Thailand - which I'm sure the culprit dish was the shark fin soup. This inspired me to research the stuff.

So, to respond to xen,

This is what I have learned since my episode with MSG above:

Natural glutamate in plants and animals is known as L-glutamic acid. MSG made in a factory is a chemical formulation that it is technically known as D-glutamic acid. They are similar but are not quite the same - kinda of like the difference between ephedrine and pseudoephedrine - the same chemical make-up, but the structure of the molecule is flipped in the opposite direction, and so each version produces somewhat different effects. Factory made MSG also contains a small amount of L-glutamic acid, but also pyroglutamic acid, and other contaminants. There is no D-glutamic acid, pyroglutamic acid, or other contaminants in the glutamate found naturally in plants and animals, only L-glutamic acid.

Our normal digestive process slowly breaks down natural or "bound" glutamic acid and it is then delivered to glutamate receptors in our body and brain. Broken down this way, it is harmless. In a factory, however, the bound glutamic acid in certain foods (corn, molasses, wheat) is broken down or made "free" by various processes (hydrolyzed, autolyzed, modified or fermented with strong chemicals, bacteria, or enzymes) and refined to a white crystalline material.

D-glutamic acid and/or the contaminants in MSG can cause symptoms such as headaches, stomach disorders, fatigue, depression, and other problems. Small amounts can cause these effects in "sensitive" people, or just about everyone if they are served or consume too much.

If you don't believe me UG, try eating a tablespoon of the stuff with one meal, and let us know what you experience.

[rixalex]

If you don't believe me UG, try eating a tablespoon of the stuff with one meal, and let us know what you experience.

Hold on a sec! Who do you think UG is? A member of JackAss?!

[Ulysses G.]

If you don't believe me UG, try eating a tablespoon of the stuff with one meal, and let us know what you experience.

Who would use anywhere near that amount on one meal? Try eating a tablespoon of table salt. One needs to use common sense.

[WhiteCadillac]

Has anyone actually asked Pizza co. if they put MSG in their products?

[phaethon]

Has anyone actually asked Pizza co. if they put MSG in their products?

I couldn't find any info. on their site. Awaiting a response to an email enquiry.

[Benjie]

MSG is contained in many foods naturally - not an added ingredient. A very few people are sensitive to it. For most folks any reaction - besides making food taste better - is purely imaginary.

Nonsense.

Too much MSG for anyone will have noticeable effects.

I have never been "sensitive" to MSG... I would eat Chinese food and all sorts of processed foods that contain it with no problems....until I overdosed on it at a wedding meal here in Thailand - which I'm sure the culprit dish was the shark fin soup. This inspired me to research the stuff.

So, to respond to xen,

This is what I have learned since my episode with MSG above:

Natural glutamate in plants and animals is known as L-glutamic acid. MSG made in a factory is a chemical formulation that it is technically known as D-glutamic acid. They are similar but are not quite the same - kinda of like the difference between ephedrine and pseudoephedrine - the same chemical make-up, but the structure of the molecule is flipped in the opposite direction, and so each version produces somewhat different effects. Factory made MSG also contains a small amount of L-glutamic acid, but also pyroglutamic acid, and other contaminants. There is no D-glutamic acid, pyroglutamic acid, or other contaminants in the glutamate found naturally in plants and animals, only L-glutamic acid.

Our normal digestive process slowly breaks down natural or "bound" glutamic acid and it is then delivered to glutamate receptors in our body and brain. Broken down this way, it is harmless. In a factory, however, the bound glutamic acid in certain foods (corn, molasses, wheat) is broken down or made "free" by various processes (hydrolyzed, autolyzed, modified or fermented with strong chemicals, bacteria, or enzymes) and refined to a white crystalline material.

D-glutamic acid and/or the contaminants in MSG can cause symptoms such as headaches, stomach disorders, fatigue, depression, and other problems. Small amounts can cause these effects in "sensitive" people, or just about everyone if they are served or consume too much.

If you don't believe me UG, try eating a tablespoon of the stuff with one meal, and let us know what you experience.

But Scientists have already done these tests, covering the food of people who are 'MSG sensitive' with MSG with absolutely no discernable effects. Seems that 'MSG sensitive' people are only sensitive when they believe the food to contain MSG, regardless of the actual MSG content.

[smokie36]

If you don't believe me UG, try eating a tablespoon of the stuff with one meal, and let us know what you experience.

Who would use anywhere near that amount on one meal? Try eating a tablespoon of table salt. One needs to use common sense.

Absolutely right. Nurse Diesel recommends thin crust with fresh buffalo mozzarella fresh tomato sauce and basil.