Woman Loses It After She Finds Out A Coworker’s Meal She Helped Herself To Contained MSG, Takes Her To HR
Salty. Sweet. Sour. Scrumptious. There are many ways to describe food, nearly as many as there are palettes around. To each their own, one may say, but there are those that take food a little more seriously than others. A connoisseur, one would call them. The elite. Or just snobby hobbyists that turn something enjoyable into a contest.
One situation unfolded in a workplace quite a bit of time ago, where one such foodie came across some food in the work fridge. Wanting to give her compliments to the chef, she marched over and fawned about how great it was that there was no MSG present. Little did she know, she was in for a surprise. The story was brought forth by Reddit user u/Rough_Bike_2252, who asked if they were in the wrong for “tricking” the coworker. Let’s find out.
MSG is a seasoning that’s surrounded by differing opinions: some love it, others cannot stand it, and there are those that are sensitive to it
Image source: Rawpixel (not the actual photo)
One woman, claiming to have an MSG allergy, was in for a surprise as the lunch she found sitting in the work fridge was to have that very flavor enhancer
Image source: Richard Masoner (not the actual photo)
Image source: Rough_Bike_2252
Her Chinese coworker had brought in food for the team, of which the woman was not a part, hence ignoring her disdain for the seasoning
Image source: voronaman111 (not the actual photo)
MSG: the three letters that have caused quite a stir in the culinary space. If we take apart the abbreviation, we end up with monosodium glutamate, a sodium salt of glutamic acid. It’s commonly used in cooking to enhance the umami—savory—flavor, especially when it comes to sauces, broths, and soups. In the food industry, it’s known as E621.
Some of you may have first come across it in one of Uncle Roger’s skits, where he claims that “MSG is the king of flavor. If you sad in life, use MSG. If you happy in life, use MSG. Put MSG in everything, it’ll turn it better.” However, the flavor enhancer has gone through quite a bit of criticism throughout the years, especially when it comes to health concerns.
However, doctors recognize the fact that some people are indeed more sensitive to MSG than others, with the condition affecting 1% of the general population
MSG got its bad reputation in the 1960s when Chinese American doctor Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, explaining that he got sick after consuming Chinese food. He believed his symptoms could have resulted from consuming either alcohol, sodium, or MSG. This sparked a host of misinformation about MSG, which was likely related to then-present biases against Chinese immigrants and their cuisine.
Later on, numerous studies backed MSG’s bad reputation, stating that the additive was highly toxic; however, present-day health authorities such as the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the European Food Safety Association (EFSA) generally recognize MSG to be safe.
As noted on Healthline, studies show that umami substances can even lower the desire to salt foods. In fact, some research argues that replacing some salt with MSG can reduce people’s sodium intake by approximately 3% without sacrificing flavor. But, with all that said, some people can feel uncomfortable after consuming MSG.
Image source: ngader (not the actual photo)
This situation, therefore, led to a lot of confusion, leaving the person wondering whether they were in the wrong for “tricking” the woman into consuming MSG
According to NY Allergy & Sinus Centers, the symptoms related to MSG do not involve the immune system, thus it cannot be called a true allergy; however, a sensitivity to the flavor enhancer has been documented, resulting in bloating, diarrhea, headaches, and abdominal pain, similar to what the woman in the story described. Interesting fact: It is estimated that MSG sensitivity affects less than 1% of the general population.
However, if you know that a certain food is likely to trigger an adverse reaction, maybe you shouldn’t eat anything that’s left in the work fridge without first asking whether it contains the food item you’re trying to avoid. Don’t be going around playing food roulette, now!
The internet community took the coworker’s side for the most part, even debating the existence of an MSG allergy to begin with
Convo with HR: - dude, if she's allergic to any kind of stuff, she should NOT eat food made by anyone else until she checks with who made it and CONFIRM no allergic stuff is in it. That's all, thanks and good day.
As I read somewhere "Sometimes the AITA nowadays, is like: 'I was hit by a car, AITA?' ..."
Load More Replies...
Wow damn. NTA. ‘Trish’ is definitely TA. I would’ve done the exact same if I was there, probably because I’m Chinese too and in fact I’m in Beijing right now :) yay
Ha, seriously! My ex is Chinese. My mom is one of those willfully ignorant people who think that MSG is made from scrapings of the chilblains on the devil's àrse. (She also claims that drinking water makes her sick, but that's a story for another day.) She says that she is "allergic" to MSG and it makes her super-sick. After nearly 10 years of my mother making snarky comments like "no thanks, all you Chinese people like to use MSG in your food and it'll make me sick" whenever my ex would offer to cook or bring over food his mom had made, we snuck MSG into something my ex made and gave it to my mom. She was perfectly fine. I'd love to say that she saw the light and changed her ways when we told her she'd just eaten MSG, but no. She is still the same narcissistic bacterium as ever.
Load More Replies...
There's lots of foods out there that naturally have MSG in it. Like Parmesan cheese has a ton, tomatoes have quite a bit (dried tomatoes even more so)... and if she's eating 'authentic' or even non authentic Italian food like the OP mentioned in particular, more than likely she's eaten both of those things. If she has no reaction to that, then she does NOT have an MSG allergy/sensitivity, and she's just being racist and over-dramatic.
It's also found in mushrooms, any aged cheese, salami, chorizo, soy sauce, and my favorite one - BREAST MILK. We are predisposed to like the stuff... which is why it's freakin delicious.
Load More Replies...
I think some people have a sensitivity to MSG (I do not). But I don't think anyone has an obligation to label leftovers with ingredients. It truth, I probably would not have called out the person on MSG. People like that live on drama and I don't need any in my life. NTA, but honestly not worth the effort to be right. Let the drama queen secure her place in hell, but treat her with to respect she deserves.
Exactly! I've learned I'd much rather be happy than right. It's not my job to correct people.
Load More Replies...
Basically msg is non allergen. yes, some people have adversity for msg, but allergic? And if you avoid msg, you can substitute it with sugar.
She probably eats MSG all the time, but doesn't realize it's a common ingredient in many places.
Load More Replies...
"Italians won't eat Domino's" --- True to an extent. The chain opened in Italy, but closed again recently. So who ate there in the years it was open? Some tourists, some foreigners, but certainly also some italians... but not enough.
That co-worker is really annoying and pretentious. Clearly she doesn't really have an allergy or sensitivity if she only got sick after learning the food had MSG. It's a psychological response. Regardless, the coworker is the one who decided to eat mystery food so that is her problem.
HR Here: first question would be - was this food intended for you, specifically? If the answer is no, not specifically, next question is why did you eat it before speaking with the person who made it? We in HR aren't idiots, nor are we gorgons. But most companies hold us as duty-bound to investigate any and all complaints, even the ridiculous ones.
OP didn't lie to her about the ingredients or do anything deceptive. The other woman ate food without asking about the ingredients and then got mad about the ingredients after the fact. That's totally on her. I'd consider talking to HR about how she talks about your culture, and honestly how she talks about food in general. No one cares if she refuses to eat domino's because it's not "real" pizza, she sounds obnoxious. Maybe you can say her vocal negativity creates a hostile work environment. I wouldn't want to be in any break room with her.
My wife was one of those "sensitive to MSG" people. Until I told her the secret ingredient to my paella, saffron rice, and mushroom sauce was Accent (MSG is main ingredient).
Look, just because your wife seems like she wasn't sensitive to it after her claims doesn't mean others aren't. Your use of quotations appears to be mocking those that say this and that's not cool. I'm not one of those people, by the way - but I know someone who is.
Load More Replies... 
I hope this gets an update. All she has to do install HR she was perfectly fine until she find out that have MSG and then startedhinking like your stomach hurt. And also bring documentation, actual studies confirming that nobody’s allergic to MSG, period, It doesn’t exist. Not to mention how she’s completely racist towards OP on a constant basis … in other words, take that b***h out and make sure the c**t gets a write up for her constant racist remarks.
Personally, I think I would avoid the MSG debate. I would most certainly avoid coming off as purposely challenging her allergy. That steps over serious boundaries. Plus, the real truth is that OP did not do any of that intentionally. She simply shared leftover food in the communal area. Anyone with food allergies or sensitivities knows better than to eat stuff without knowing the ingredients. HR would need to establish that the onus was on OP rather than the people eating the food. To make that fair, that would mean no sharing food without complete ingredient lists. That is unlikely to happen.
Load More Replies...
i have irritable bowel syndrome and a few mild to moderate allergies and i’m usually not careful about what i eat and trust me i pay the consequences. i have had bad experiences because of this but would never blame anyone else under any circumstances. i saw food that looked good and i ate it knowing exactly what could happen. that’s on me and my impulsivity, not anyone else.
I use Ajinomoto on every savoury dish, learned from my Italian gran! It just takes the umami flavour a notch up
Italian as born and raised in Italy, or italian as born in the USA from a very remote Italian ancestry?
Load More Replies... Trish is right in one thing: we Italians wouldn't call Domino's pizza a pizza.
And pizza isnt Italian. Just something that italians tried to claim as theirs.
Load More Replies...
I've endured my share of a-hole co-workers in my time (haven't we all?), but nothing like "Trish", thankfully.
Does anyone know what MSG is in this context? I feel like I’m missing something. Also the coworker is a racist POS and I hope HR skins her alive.
why is coworker racist? dumb, yes. Karen, yes. but racist? mmm. I don't see it. yet, modern wokes call anything racist or transphobe, so...
Load More Replies...
I have to question EVERYTHING I'd like to eat as I'm severely allergic to raw onions, and sensitive to cooked ones. The idea of eating something that wasn't mine to begin with, and not asking about the ingredients first, is MY problem, not the cook's.
I have foid allergy and because of it I would never eat something without checking the ingredients, the aftermath is just not worth it. Anyone with a food allergy will tell you that
My ex had an MSG allergy… at least that was the only connection we could make. It was the weirdest thing: the night after eating it, he would get these itchy red splotches on the palms of his hands, soles of his feet, and around his hairline on his forehead! I told him he looked like a Star Trek alien! He had a reaction twice before we figured out what it was from.
An Army buddy of mine made Exlax brownies for his co-workers one night. He was looking at pranking them. Things were very busy the moment they got in on shift & they did not have time to hit the brownies. Shift supervisors instead snuck some of the brownies & got their just reward. They called the Military Police on him for trying to poison them. My buddy brought up a good point. Did you have permission or did you steal my brownies? Now the cops were looking at the supervisors for theft. To all of us, that was the best prank ever.
Im old enough to remember Chinese special fried rice with msg...It was fantastic, these days It is bleh why bother. Also as a Croatian/Slovenian vegeta which contains msg is the main seasoning in most of my favorite dishes, can't imagine chicken noodle soup or schnitzel without it.
Genuinely hope OP brought up that Trish is obnoxiously racist towards her.
Trish is racist. And stupid. If she really had an allergy she would check first. I always do. I'm so deathly allergic to shellfish that I won't even go to a restaurant that serves it for fear of cross contamination. But that is on me. It is my body, it is my job to make sure I only eat items that are safe (there are other items too). If Trish were truly allergic, she wouldn't need to be told to have a reaction.
Tell HR the food was NOT for her, only for your group, which means she stole the food. Then tell them you want to file separate complaints against her for theft, racism, and harassment. If HR balks, tell them you will file a police report for petty theft against Trish. I would also get in Trish's face and tell her you will put whatever you want in your own food, and if she touches it again, you will demand she is fired for theft. Make no mistake! ALL food thieves should be terminated immediately. No excuses.
Trish had no problem until she was told about the MSG. Try telling her her last snack (at someone else s expense) had arsenic in it and see if she drops dead.
How can you take someone else's food and then claim you were tricked into eating it. Does she mean, that it was not under lock and key, or what?
NTA - She's a very sad person and needs to see a professional for her self-entitled delusions.
That woman is a toxic dramatic nutter. Who touches other people’s food?
Msg isn't bad. Watch some videos on YouTube w msg. You can put it on a lot of foods to bring up the flavor. It's not salt. But if pops sugar and salt notes. The headache myth from msg was when people sensitive to salt Added a lot of soy to their meals. Soy sauce is salty and that combo can give a headache.
When you made the food available to everyone, it would have been smart to warn Trish about the MSG. The first syllable of "foolproof" is there for a reason.
Karen sounds pretentious AF. OP is NTA. It’s not her job to make sure Karen doesn’t eat her food.
Because msg is in more foods that those people eat than not. They just dont know it.
Load More Replies... She didn't. Her teammate did. And if you have an allergy don't go wating random foods whos ingredients you don't know.
Load More Replies...
There's a huge difference biologically between food sensitivities and a true allergy. Getting a migraine from MSG is a horrible sensitivity issue, but *not* a life threatening allergic reaction.
Load More Replies...
Convo with HR: - dude, if she's allergic to any kind of stuff, she should NOT eat food made by anyone else until she checks with who made it and CONFIRM no allergic stuff is in it. That's all, thanks and good day.
As I read somewhere "Sometimes the AITA nowadays, is like: 'I was hit by a car, AITA?' ..."
Load More Replies... Wow damn. NTA. ‘Trish’ is definitely TA. I would’ve done the exact same if I was there, probably because I’m Chinese too and in fact I’m in Beijing right now :) yay
Ha, seriously! My ex is Chinese. My mom is one of those willfully ignorant people who think that MSG is made from scrapings of the chilblains on the devil's àrse. (She also claims that drinking water makes her sick, but that's a story for another day.) She says that she is "allergic" to MSG and it makes her super-sick. After nearly 10 years of my mother making snarky comments like "no thanks, all you Chinese people like to use MSG in your food and it'll make me sick" whenever my ex would offer to cook or bring over food his mom had made, we snuck MSG into something my ex made and gave it to my mom. She was perfectly fine. I'd love to say that she saw the light and changed her ways when we told her she'd just eaten MSG, but no. She is still the same narcissistic bacterium as ever.
Load More Replies... There's lots of foods out there that naturally have MSG in it. Like Parmesan cheese has a ton, tomatoes have quite a bit (dried tomatoes even more so)... and if she's eating 'authentic' or even non authentic Italian food like the OP mentioned in particular, more than likely she's eaten both of those things. If she has no reaction to that, then she does NOT have an MSG allergy/sensitivity, and she's just being racist and over-dramatic.
It's also found in mushrooms, any aged cheese, salami, chorizo, soy sauce, and my favorite one - BREAST MILK. We are predisposed to like the stuff... which is why it's freakin delicious.
Load More Replies... I think some people have a sensitivity to MSG (I do not). But I don't think anyone has an obligation to label leftovers with ingredients. It truth, I probably would not have called out the person on MSG. People like that live on drama and I don't need any in my life. NTA, but honestly not worth the effort to be right. Let the drama queen secure her place in hell, but treat her with to respect she deserves.
Exactly! I've learned I'd much rather be happy than right. It's not my job to correct people.
Load More Replies... Basically msg is non allergen. yes, some people have adversity for msg, but allergic? And if you avoid msg, you can substitute it with sugar.
She probably eats MSG all the time, but doesn't realize it's a common ingredient in many places.
Load More Replies... "Italians won't eat Domino's" --- True to an extent. The chain opened in Italy, but closed again recently. So who ate there in the years it was open? Some tourists, some foreigners, but certainly also some italians... but not enough.
That co-worker is really annoying and pretentious. Clearly she doesn't really have an allergy or sensitivity if she only got sick after learning the food had MSG. It's a psychological response. Regardless, the coworker is the one who decided to eat mystery food so that is her problem.
HR Here: first question would be - was this food intended for you, specifically? If the answer is no, not specifically, next question is why did you eat it before speaking with the person who made it? We in HR aren't idiots, nor are we gorgons. But most companies hold us as duty-bound to investigate any and all complaints, even the ridiculous ones.
OP didn't lie to her about the ingredients or do anything deceptive. The other woman ate food without asking about the ingredients and then got mad about the ingredients after the fact. That's totally on her. I'd consider talking to HR about how she talks about your culture, and honestly how she talks about food in general. No one cares if she refuses to eat domino's because it's not "real" pizza, she sounds obnoxious. Maybe you can say her vocal negativity creates a hostile work environment. I wouldn't want to be in any break room with her.
My wife was one of those "sensitive to MSG" people. Until I told her the secret ingredient to my paella, saffron rice, and mushroom sauce was Accent (MSG is main ingredient).
Look, just because your wife seems like she wasn't sensitive to it after her claims doesn't mean others aren't. Your use of quotations appears to be mocking those that say this and that's not cool. I'm not one of those people, by the way - but I know someone who is.
Load More Replies... I hope this gets an update. All she has to do install HR she was perfectly fine until she find out that have MSG and then startedhinking like your stomach hurt. And also bring documentation, actual studies confirming that nobody’s allergic to MSG, period, It doesn’t exist. Not to mention how she’s completely racist towards OP on a constant basis … in other words, take that b***h out and make sure the c**t gets a write up for her constant racist remarks.
Personally, I think I would avoid the MSG debate. I would most certainly avoid coming off as purposely challenging her allergy. That steps over serious boundaries. Plus, the real truth is that OP did not do any of that intentionally. She simply shared leftover food in the communal area. Anyone with food allergies or sensitivities knows better than to eat stuff without knowing the ingredients. HR would need to establish that the onus was on OP rather than the people eating the food. To make that fair, that would mean no sharing food without complete ingredient lists. That is unlikely to happen.
Load More Replies... i have irritable bowel syndrome and a few mild to moderate allergies and i’m usually not careful about what i eat and trust me i pay the consequences. i have had bad experiences because of this but would never blame anyone else under any circumstances. i saw food that looked good and i ate it knowing exactly what could happen. that’s on me and my impulsivity, not anyone else.
I use Ajinomoto on every savoury dish, learned from my Italian gran! It just takes the umami flavour a notch up
Italian as born and raised in Italy, or italian as born in the USA from a very remote Italian ancestry?
Load More Replies... Trish is right in one thing: we Italians wouldn't call Domino's pizza a pizza.
And pizza isnt Italian. Just something that italians tried to claim as theirs.
Load More Replies... I've endured my share of a-hole co-workers in my time (haven't we all?), but nothing like "Trish", thankfully.
Does anyone know what MSG is in this context? I feel like I’m missing something. Also the coworker is a racist POS and I hope HR skins her alive.
why is coworker racist? dumb, yes. Karen, yes. but racist? mmm. I don't see it. yet, modern wokes call anything racist or transphobe, so...
Load More Replies... I have to question EVERYTHING I'd like to eat as I'm severely allergic to raw onions, and sensitive to cooked ones. The idea of eating something that wasn't mine to begin with, and not asking about the ingredients first, is MY problem, not the cook's.
I have foid allergy and because of it I would never eat something without checking the ingredients, the aftermath is just not worth it. Anyone with a food allergy will tell you that
My ex had an MSG allergy… at least that was the only connection we could make. It was the weirdest thing: the night after eating it, he would get these itchy red splotches on the palms of his hands, soles of his feet, and around his hairline on his forehead! I told him he looked like a Star Trek alien! He had a reaction twice before we figured out what it was from.
An Army buddy of mine made Exlax brownies for his co-workers one night. He was looking at pranking them. Things were very busy the moment they got in on shift & they did not have time to hit the brownies. Shift supervisors instead snuck some of the brownies & got their just reward. They called the Military Police on him for trying to poison them. My buddy brought up a good point. Did you have permission or did you steal my brownies? Now the cops were looking at the supervisors for theft. To all of us, that was the best prank ever.
Im old enough to remember Chinese special fried rice with msg...It was fantastic, these days It is bleh why bother. Also as a Croatian/Slovenian vegeta which contains msg is the main seasoning in most of my favorite dishes, can't imagine chicken noodle soup or schnitzel without it.
Genuinely hope OP brought up that Trish is obnoxiously racist towards her.
Trish is racist. And stupid. If she really had an allergy she would check first. I always do. I'm so deathly allergic to shellfish that I won't even go to a restaurant that serves it for fear of cross contamination. But that is on me. It is my body, it is my job to make sure I only eat items that are safe (there are other items too). If Trish were truly allergic, she wouldn't need to be told to have a reaction.
Tell HR the food was NOT for her, only for your group, which means she stole the food. Then tell them you want to file separate complaints against her for theft, racism, and harassment. If HR balks, tell them you will file a police report for petty theft against Trish. I would also get in Trish's face and tell her you will put whatever you want in your own food, and if she touches it again, you will demand she is fired for theft. Make no mistake! ALL food thieves should be terminated immediately. No excuses.
Trish had no problem until she was told about the MSG. Try telling her her last snack (at someone else s expense) had arsenic in it and see if she drops dead.
How can you take someone else's food and then claim you were tricked into eating it. Does she mean, that it was not under lock and key, or what?
NTA - She's a very sad person and needs to see a professional for her self-entitled delusions.
That woman is a toxic dramatic nutter. Who touches other people’s food?
Msg isn't bad. Watch some videos on YouTube w msg. You can put it on a lot of foods to bring up the flavor. It's not salt. But if pops sugar and salt notes. The headache myth from msg was when people sensitive to salt Added a lot of soy to their meals. Soy sauce is salty and that combo can give a headache.
When you made the food available to everyone, it would have been smart to warn Trish about the MSG. The first syllable of "foolproof" is there for a reason.
Karen sounds pretentious AF. OP is NTA. It’s not her job to make sure Karen doesn’t eat her food.
Because msg is in more foods that those people eat than not. They just dont know it.
Load More Replies... She didn't. Her teammate did. And if you have an allergy don't go wating random foods whos ingredients you don't know.
Load More Replies... There's a huge difference biologically between food sensitivities and a true allergy. Getting a migraine from MSG is a horrible sensitivity issue, but *not* a life threatening allergic reaction.
Load More Replies...
159
117