Aji-no-moto means the "Essence of Taste". Many people believed that monosodium glutamate is made from chemicals but this is not true!!! Haven't you noticed that some food like mushrooms, cheese and tomatoes have that extra special "something"? This is so as they are riched in glutamate which make them highly prized for their flavour-enhancing powers by cooks all over the world.

Glutamate is actually an amino acid found in virtually all natural food such as meats, fish, poultry, milk (including breast milk) and vegetables. It occurs naturally in most protein food.

Glutamate is also found naturally in our body, muscles, brain and other organ tissues. Moreover, glutamate which is produced by the body plays an important role in the human metabolism.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is simply the sodium salt of glutamate and when consumed it is simply seperated into sodium and glutamate by the body.

It is made by fermenting natural substances - most commonly tapioca, sago and sugar cane - in a process similar to that used for making fermented rice, soy sauce, vinegar and yoghurt.