Naturally Occurring MSG-Equivalent Content in Culinary Spices: Titrimetric Assessment, Recipe-Level Evaluation, and Development of an Estimation Tool

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is widely added to processed foods as a flavour enhancer, yet glutamic acid, its parent amino acid, occurs naturally in many raw food ingredients, including culinary spices. This study assessed naturally occurring titratable free amino-acid content, expressed on an MSG-equivalent basis, in 39 individual spices and seasoning ingredients commonly used in South Asian recipe formulations, using Sørensen formol titration. Method performance was assessed through placebo and spiking recovery experiments prior to formulation-level testing on recipe formulations sourced from a spice and seasoning manufacturer in South Asia. The naturally occurring background MSG-equivalent signal contributed substantially more to total measured MSG-equivalent content than the deliberately added MSG in the formulations tested: in a spice blend (Recipe 1), the natural background signal accounted for approximately 74% of total measured MSG-equivalent content (10.2% of 13.8% total), despite only 3% MSG being intentionally added. These findings informed the development of a spreadsheet-based calculator and browser-based interactive calculator enabling estimation of naturally occurring MSG-equivalent content in recipes composed of ingredients represented within the reference dataset, with direct application to food labelling accuracy and quality control practice.