Open Letter

23 Division Ave. Westbury, NY 11590
26 May 2011
Dr. Mehmet Oz New York-Presbyterian Hospital Milstein Hospital Bldg Room 7 GN 435 177 Fort Washington Ave. New York, NY 10032
Dear Dr. Mehmet Oz,
Hello. I am a 23 year old woman from Long Island. I am writing you because of an issue that has caught my attention. People could be killing themselves slowly and not even know it because of MSG a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, used to intensify taste in processed foods. In 2005 the House of Representatives passed the “Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act” to protect the food and beverage industry from civil lawsuits: Under the measure, known as the “Cheeseburger Bill” people who buy food or drinks couldn’t sue the companies that made them if they got fat from eating the food. But who’s protecting the people? The FDA and DPA both have also been working with the Corporation with Ajinomoto Company Incorporated to prevent full and clear disclosure of MSG in processed foods. They also hire scientist to turn up research to demonstrate MSG as safe and public relations firms are hired to fabricate stories about the safety of MSG. Since no one in the government wants to take responsibility for the effects of MSG in our food. I would like to know if you could do a show on it to make the public more aware of MSG and its side effects.


Many Americans have been eating foods with MSG and don’t even know it. I didn’t either before I did this research. But there have been so many studies done to show how bad it is for humans and all the aliments it causes, for instance a study was done on mice who were given MSG threw a feeding tube these mice compare to the others became blind and obese. MSG is a neurotoxin substance that causes a wide range of health reactions from a temporary headache to permanent brain damage. There has been a huge increase in Alzheimer’s, brain cancer, seizers, multiple sclerosis and diseases of the nervous system since MSG was added to processed food fifty years ago. Ninety-five percent of processed foods contain MSG and if MSG passes thru the blood brain barrier the nerve cells disintegrate or shrivel up which causes the health problems.


MSG is found in many different kinds of foods like dehydrated soup mixes, sauce mixes, TV dinners, low-fat milk, imitation garlic and onions and condiments with a meaty base. Most vegetarian foods are loaded with MSG because they need the flavoring of food to tasty meaty for example vegetarian hamburgers, hotdogs, and bacon. I was shocked when I went into the kitchen and started looking in the cabinets and refrigerator. MSG is in everything. Campbell’s soup, Doritos, Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Lean Cuisines, low-fat milk, salad dressing especially the low fat ones. The items that didn’t have MSG had something called Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, which is just another name for Monosodium Glumate. It’s shocking to see how many foods we eat contain MSG but we could not have all these processed foods without the fake flavoring and the fast food industry couldn’t exist without MSG and artificial meat flavors to make secret sauces and spices. We are all getting tricked into believed we’re getting something nutritious when we’re getting nothing at all except very toxic substances. MSG is one of the most toxic additives in our food supply and anything you buy that says spices or natural flavoring contains MSG. The FDA get around putting it in the labels if there’s less than fifty percent of it in your food. If they weren’t hiding anything they wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble to hide the truth. The FDA also deemed MSG safe at one time but there after it was not found to be safe and was added to the generally regarded as safe list.


I would be so grateful if you could do a show on MSG just to educate the public on what their eating, how dangerous it is and how this toxic additive could also be causing them to become obese. It’s a huge concern to me because the average American has no idea that there is this toxic additive in their food that could be killing them slowly. And I believe if you do a show on MSG it will open the eyes of many Americans who have no idea that the food processing industry adds toxic chemicals to their processed foods to add flavoring and give the food its edible appeal.
Concerned Citizen,
Maria Montero

Work Sited
Fallon, Sally, MA. “Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry.” Consumer Health. Volume 24 Issue 8. August 2001. Web. 19 May 2011.
“Your Government in Action: the system that promotes the unregulated use of MSG.” TruthinLabeling.org. The politics of MSG. updated 14 May 2011. Web. 25 May 2011.
Erb, John. “MSG Causes Most Obesity but Congress Grants Immunity o Food Producers.” Chris Gupta Share the Wealth. 13 May 2005. Web. 25 May 2011.