New Does profit surge for Ajinomoto reflect worrying health trend?

Sale of Ajinomoto in Malaysia is on the rise, as evidenced by the huge jump in its profits in the fourth quarter, even though MSG has been linked to health problems.

PETALING JAYA: While most companies in Malaysia posted moderate profit growth, or none, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd saw a major increase in its profit numbers.

It made 22 times more in the fourth quarter last year compared with the same period the previous year.

In last year’s financial report, the company had declared a profit of RM6.59 million for its fourth quarter period of January to March 2016. This number has increased to RM148.96 million for the same quarter this year.

Does this also mean that the company’s most popular product, Aji-No-Moto, which uses monosodium glutamate or MSG as its main ingredient, is being consumed at an alarmingly increasing rate by Malaysians?

It would appear so.

Despite reports concerning health issues on the use of MSG in food preparation, Ajinomoto said the product was well-accepted by Malaysians.

“Aji-No-Moto has a 90% market share in the country, according to statistics gathered on the use of the product in Malaysian homes, as well as at restaurants and other eateries,” a spokesperson for the company told FMT.

FMT visited a few food and beverage outlets around Selangor to gauge the use of the product.

Hangover Bar Damansara Perdana outlet manager James Cupa said it was normal for restaurants to use flavour enhancers.

“We use flavour enhancers to make our dishes more enticing in terms of taste,” he told FMT.

He said this was perfectly all right as the restaurant only used it in minimal quantities to give its dishes a “kick”.

“We don’t use it to replace our seasoning entirely,” Cupa added.

Another restaurateur, Rakesh Kumar, said his restaurant normally used MSG in preparing its Malay dishes.

Rakesh, who manages Mr Soul Bistro in Damansara Perdana, told FMT that MSG had become an accepted seasoning at Malaysian restaurants.

“We use it when we serve Malay dishes. It provides more flavour and we get good feedback from our customers,” he said.

The use of flavour enhancers was even more apparent at mamak eateries around town.

Abdullah Naina Mohamed, the manager at Faiz Restaurant in Puchong, said the outlet used the powdered version of MSG.

“We use it regularly in our dishes. It is normal for us. Our food will become sedap (delicious),” he said.

Abdullah added that his outlet had attracted many customers since it began using MSG in March.

“Profit since then has been high, and our outlet always has customers who come back to our restaurant.”

However, the Consumers Association of Penang cautioned that the product was considered toxic, describing it as a “slow poison”.

“MSG contributes to high sodium intake,” it said when contacted by FMT.

The association added that the health ministry had already warned that Malaysians consumed high levels of sodium, the main cause of hypertension and strokes.

Research has tied MSG to health problems such as strokes, brain injury and meningitis, but this does not seem to deter people from consuming food cooked with the flavour enhancer.

However, studies by Ajinomoto show that MSG is glutamate, the most frequently found amino acid in protein-rich food, and that it has no carcinogenic properties.

MSG is one of the oldest types of food seasoning in the world and was patented by Ajinomoto Japan in 1909. -FMT