MSG A-OKAY

London, Ont. -- Matthew M. Elrod (Prohibition Redux -- Letter, Aug. 6)
compares the addictiveness of cannabis to that of tobacco and also to
the hazards encountered in mountain climbing. I can accept that, but
he also suggests that monosodium glutamate (MSG) belongs in the same
range of comparisons.

The World Health Organization, the Scientific Committee for Food of
the European Commission and the FDA in the United States have all
concluded that studies have failed to confirm the toxicity of MSG.
According to the School of Public Health at the University of
Calfornia in Berkeley, it is possible "that a few people might be
sensitive to MSG if they swallow a huge amount of it without food."

Charles B. Chapman