We became incensed a few weeks ago after picking up a five pack of Oriental Flavour two minute noodles from the supermarket.  >> Read the article

Readers may recall the label says ‘simple goodness – no artificial flavours or colours.’ 

The flavour sachet contains three of the most insidious flavour enhancers known to man: 621 – Monosodium L-glutamate (MSG); 635 – Disodium 5’-ribonucleotides and 631 – Disodium inosinate.

The side effects of MSG have long been known and this knowledge has long been refuted, ridiculed and ignored by the food industry.

Chemical 635 was only approved for use in 1994. 

It’s a combination of the aforementioned 631 and another chemical enhancer – 627.

It is used in conjunction with MSG to enhance flavour up to 15 times.

Since 1994 we’ve been enhancing the flavour of food to the power of 15 and childhood obesity is at an all-time high.

Since 1994 we’ve been enhancing the flavour of food to the power of 15 and childhood asthma is at an all-time high.

Since 1994 disorders such as ADD, ADHD and ODD have grown to epidemic proportions.

Grown-ups are lamenting the lack of respect afforded them by their children. The kids are becoming more dysfunctional.

Lethargy, apathy and anti-social behaviour are rampant in our schools.

A Deakin University study of 3800 12-15 year olds revealed that 90 per cent consumed foods like fast foods, energy-dense snacks and sugar-sweetened drinks on a daily basis. >> Read an article on the report.

You’d think that someone at a Federal level would think about all this and process the information laterally, but the powerful food industry lobby groups have equally powerful friends in Canberra.

It’s these sorts of relationships that win and lose elections and politicians must be very careful how they broach such subjects.

It's made even more delicate because of the involvement of another powerful lobby group -the pharmaceutical company.

Aside from providing the chemicals to the food industry in the first place, these soulless beasts stand to gain much from the spread of disorder, disease and diabetes.

Anyway you look at it, pharmaceutical corporations must be in total support of the chemical enhancement of food.

Dailydave sought some answers from the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA).

Leigh Reeve, Communications and Marketing Director with the DAA said they were “aware of the symptoms that some adults and children may suffer from consumption of the flavour enhancers you describe.

“Unfortunately there isn’t any research that tells us how many people are affected.”

Why hasn’t a study been commissioned Leigh?

Perhaps it’s because organisations such as the DAA are well and truly in the back pocket of companies like Nestle, the mob who make two minute noodles.

This relationship is so entrenched that the DAA appears on the official nestle website as a member of the ‘Nestle community’. >> See it here.

Leigh Reeve got a bit snooty when I asked him about this relationship.

“…For your information,” he sniffed, “while we work with Nestle on agreed projects, our Association does not endorse any products from any company.”

So reading between the lines we can take that to mean that the DAA gets paid significant money from Nestle to work on ‘agreed projects’.

In return Nestle gets to use the DAA logo and a tacit inference that DAA endorses all Nestle products.

It is indeed a tangled web we weave.

Stay tuned; we’ve received correspondence from Nestle, as well as Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) in relation to this issue. Their responses make for interesting reading.

>> MSG, behind salt and pepper is the world's most common seasoning. Its side effects can be devastating. Read the dailydave food additives section here.