Dictionary labels offensive term 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' as 'racist'

An urban myth about the negative health effects of MSG that has haunted Chinese food for decades just got blown up.

Merriam-Webster, the country's largest and oldest dictionary, has updated its entry on “Chinese restaurant syndrome,” a term many Asian Americans saw as antiquated, offensive and even racist.

The altered definition of the term follows:

"Chinese restaurant syndrome:a group of symptoms held to affect susceptible persons eating food heavily seasoned with monosodium glutamate : MSG SYMPTOM COMPLEX

"NOTE: The term Chinese restaurant syndrome was coined in the late 1960s following reports of people having bad reactions to food seasoned with monosodium glutamate in Chinese restaurants. Research in the years since has failed to establish a clear link between those adverse reactions and the consumption of MSG, and the term Chinese restaurant syndrome has been criticized as misleading and potentially offensive. It has been replaced in medical literature by MSG symptom complex.,"

After the supposed syndrome was identified in the 1960s as a numbness after eating Chinese food, several physicians opined that the culprit was use of monosodium glutamate, or MSG, that was used in Chinese cooking to enhance the flavor.

MSG comes from glutamate, a common amino acid or protein building block found in food. The Food and Drug Administration says MSG is generally recognized as a safe addition to food. In previous studies with people identifying as sensitive to MSG, researchers found that neither MSG nor a placebo caused consistent reactions, said the FDA.

Merriam-Webster included the term in it's dictionary in 1996 lending credence to the myth.

The old definition of 'Chinese restaurant syndrome'

As it turned out, there was no scientific evidence for linking Chinese food to the reported symptoms that included increased or irregular heart palpitation, a "warming" of the skin and a numbness in the back and neck, dizziness and headaches.

“We record the language — we do not create, sanction or promote any specific words; the language’s speakers do this, and we provide a record of this use,” Emily Brewster, a senior editor at Merriam-Webster, told the New York Times.

“That said,” she continued, “we certainly aim to be mindful of the inevitable shifts in language, and we regularly update both definitions and usage labels to reflect changes.”

A campaign to rid the negative image of MSG was launched by a MSG manufacturer Ajinomoto. The company approached Eddie Huang, the restaurateur and comedian, and Jeannie Mai, a television personality, to lead the #RedefineCRS campaign.

Celebrity chef Huang, whose youth was chronicled in the TV sitcom Fresh Off the Boat based on his autobiography, began mentioning the racist nature of the term on his show,  Huang's World, pointing out that MSG occurs naturally and is used in several other food products and manufacturers without any complaints by consumers.

Eddie Huang tells dictionary 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' is not real

Eddie Huang, right, wants to remove the stigma of MSG and Chinese food.

For decades, Chinese restaurant food was so stigmatized for it's use of MSG that restaurants began posting signs "No MSG used" and a name was given to the imagined symptoms of eating that food -- Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.

Even though researchers say the fear of MSG is unwarranted and it is safe to use, that stigma remains. The term, "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome," even appears in dictionaries.

Restaurateur and celebrity chef Eddie Huang says the appearance of the CRS in dictionaries is racist and is out to remove the term from the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

The outspoken food show host is being aided in his crusade by Ajinomoto MSG and TV personality Jeannie Mai.

“I think that the change in people’s perceptions and their ‘open-mindedness’ towards Chinese food is only happening when it’s packaged and presented to Americans in a way they like,” Huang told NBC News.

MSG, or monosodium glutamate, supposedly caused a feeling of bloated or dizziness but 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could not find the link between those symptoms and MSG.. Most people can eat foods that contain MSG without experiencing any problems. However, a small percentage of people have short-term, adverse reactions to this food additive. Due to this controversy, many restaurants advertise that they don’t add MSG to their foods.

MSG is a food additive used to improve the taste of food. It has become an important additive for the food industry because it doesn’t compromise flavor if lower quality or less fresh ingredients are used.

The FDA categorizes MSG as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). The FDA also categorizes salt and sugar as GRAS. However, there’s controversy over the lack of oversight the FDA has in the introduction and use of additives by the food industry. 

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), many GRAS foods don’t go through the rigorous testing required for this safety claim.What's more, MSG is used liberally in other products like Campbells Soups. Chick-fil-A and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen reportedly both use the ingredient in their popular chicken sandwiches.

But is only Chinese food that is associated with MSG and receives the bad press, says Huang, whose memoirs formed the basis for the TV sitcom Fresh Off the Boat.

When reached by media for comment Tuesday, Merriam-Webster said it had not received complaints before about “Chinese restaurant syndrome" but would reconsider the term.

“Our aim is always to provide accurate information about what words mean, which includes providing information about whether a use is offensive or dated,” senior editor Emily Brewster said in a statement. "We’ll be reviewing this particular entry and will revise it according to the evidence of the term in use.

Shifts in culture and attitudes put the dictionary in a constant state of revision, she added.