John Olney, MSG, and the Baby Food Scandal of 1969

Early Concerns About MSG and Infant Health

In the 1960s, monosodium glutamate (MSG) was widely used as a flavor enhancer in a variety of foods, including canned soups, frozen dinners, and even infant baby food. The prevailing belief in the food industry was that MSG was safe, and its ability to enhance flavors made it extremely popular with food manufacturers. Parents, accustomed to seasoning their own meals, often preferred baby foods that tasted more flavorful. This marketing reality meant that MSG found its way into jars of strained peas, carrots, and even infant formulas.

However, not everyone accepted its safety without question. In 1969, Dr. John W. Olney, a young neuroscientist at Washington University in St. Louis, published groundbreaking research suggesting that MSG could be harmful to infants. Olney’s work in laboratory animals showed that MSG, when administered in moderately high doses, caused brain lesions and developmental damage. These lesions appeared particularly in the hypothalamus region of the brain, an area responsible for critical endocrine and metabolic functions. His findings were disturbing because they suggested that MSG could cross the blood-brain barrier of young or developing organisms, raising the possibility that human infants consuming MSG-laced baby food could be at risk.

Public Outcry and the Role of Congress

Olney did not keep his findings confined to the scientific community. Disturbed by the implications for infant health, he took the unusual step of going public, alerting both the press and Congress. In 1969, he presented his evidence to the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, which was chaired by Senator George McGovern. These hearings were part of a larger governmental effort at the time to scrutinize America’s food supply and investigate how diet affected public health.

The revelations sparked public concern and media attention. The idea that MSG was being added to baby food not for nutritional purposes, but to appeal to adult taste expectations, struck many as irresponsible and unethical. Parents believed they were feeding their children the purest, safest products available, only to learn that a controversial additive had been included largely for marketing reasons.

The Removal of MSG from Baby Foods in 1969

By October of 1969, under mounting pressure from both Congress and an outraged public, major baby food manufacturers—such as Gerber, Beech-Nut, and Heinz—announced that they would voluntarily remove MSG from their baby food lines. This decision marked a turning point in the regulation and marketing of infant foods in the United States. It also reflected a growing awareness of the need for consumer protection in the food industry, particularly for vulnerable populations like infants and children.

The removal of MSG from baby foods did not end the debate about its safety for adults. To this day, MSG remains a contested additive: some scientific studies suggest it is harmless in moderate amounts for most people, while others point to potential sensitivity reactions in a subset of the population. But Olney’s work in 1969 had a permanent and profound effect—his research and advocacy ensured that MSG would no longer be a part of the diets of America’s youngest consumers.

The Persistence of MSG in the Modern Food Supply

While the removal of MSG from baby food was an important step in the right direction, it did not spell the end of its widespread use. Foods marketed to children after infancy—along with the vast majority of fast food, snack foods, and processed “junk foods”—continue to rely heavily on MSG as a flavor enhancer. An endless array of foods, from pizza toppings, flavored chips, sodas, ketchup, canned soups, frozen entrées, and even most commercial sauces and salad dressings (to name a few), continue to contain and conceal it.

Complicating matters further, food industry lobbying and regulatory loopholes mean that MSG does not always appear on ingredient labels under its own name. Instead, manufacturers often disguise it under less familiar or more benign-sounding terms. For consumers seeking to avoid MSG, this practice makes label reading extremely difficult.

Common Names Used to Mask MSG in Ingredient Lists

• “Flavoring” or “Natural Flavoring”
• “Yeast Extract”
• “Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)”
• “Hydrolyzed Plant Protein”
• “Autolyzed Yeast”
• “Soy Protein Isolate”
• “Textured Protein” or “Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)”
• “Glutamic Acid”
• “Sodium Caseinate”
• “Calcium Caseinate”
• “Seasonings”
• “Broth” (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
• “Stock” (meat or vegetable)
• “Maltodextrin”
• “Whey Protein” or “Whey Protein Concentrate”
• “Gelatin”
• “Corn Protein”
• “Ultra-pasteurized flavor base”
• “Carrageenan” (sometimes contains free glutamates)

This wide range of aliases makes it nearly impossible for the average shopper to know whether or not they are consuming added MSG. Consumer advocates argue that this practice deliberately obscures transparency, depriving families of informed choice. MSG, in other words, did not disappear after 1969—it simply became harder to recognize.

Legacy and Broader Impact

Dr. John Olney’s efforts went beyond MSG. He later became known for coining the term “excitotoxins” to describe a class of substances, including MSG and aspartame, that overstimulate neurons to the point of damage or death. His research helped shape the emerging field of neurotoxicology and influenced later debates about food additives, artificial sweeteners, and other chemical exposures.

One of the most widely accessible resources for understanding this subject is Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.’s 1997 book, Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills. Blaylock’s work built upon Olney’s pioneering research and laid out the broader case against excitotoxins in the modern food supply. He, like Olney, emphasized that aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet) represented another major concern for neurological health, especially for children whose nervous systems are still developing.

Today, many researchers and health advocates point to the dramatic rise in learning difficulties, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems among children as potentially linked to these excitotoxins. While causation remains debated, the hypothesis that widespread exposure to substances like MSG and aspartame contributes to the unprecedented prevalence of such issues continues to attract attention.

The 1969 baby food scandal also became an early example of how scientific research, consumer advocacy, and government oversight could combine to bring about meaningful change in the food industry. It foreshadowed later controversies over sugar, artificial dyes, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms. Above all, it underscored the principle that infant food should be designed with the child’s health—not adult marketing preferences—in mind.

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