McDonald's Reportedly Adds MSG To New Chicken Sandwich

(RTTNews) - McDonald's Corp. is adding monosodium glutamate or MSG, a controversial flavor enhancer, to its newly testing fried-chicken sandwich, Bloomberg reported.

The fast-food giant, in its efforts to compete with Popeyes and Chick-fil-A in the ongoing crispy chicken sandwich war, started offering its own crispy chicken sandwiches in select stores in Houston, Texas and Knoxville, Tennessee in early December. McDonald's plans to offer the products nationwide in 2020. At present, McDonald's does not use MSG in products on its national menu items.

As per the report, the company will be adding the ingredient in tests of a Portuguese sausage and a soup base in select locations in Hawaii, as well as more crispy chicken fillets in Augusta, Georgia, and Seattle.

A McDonald's spokeswoman stated that the company received positive responses about its new Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Deluxe Crispy Chicken sandwich from customers in Houston and Knoxville. The customer feedback and insights from the ongoing tests of its chicken sandwich will now form its future decisions.

Both Chick-fil-A and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen reportedly use MSG in their chicken sandwiches, among other menu items.

The Food and Drug Administration has considered the use of MSG as generally safe. The ingredient has been in use for long in fast foods around the world. However, it has raised health concerns from many consumers, who have complained about its side effects including headache, numbness and heart palpitations.

McDonald's in its website has stated that it uses real, quality ingredients to elevate the taste of food and the spirits of people who enjoy it all over the world. The company earlier decided to remove artificial preservatives from its chicken nuggets.