Thanks for pointing that out. So "synthetic" is the wrong word. Maybe "industrially produced"? Anyway, if it's made by bacteria, that suggests that it's enanti

Thanks for pointing that out. So "synthetic" is the wrong word. Maybe "industrially produced"? Anyway, if it's made by bacteria, that suggests that it's enantiopure, so there goes one of my hypotheses about the cause of the problem. The ones I'm left with are: - it's something else entirely that's making me ill - the naturally-occurring MSG is bound up with other substances in some way that makes it safe for me to consume I guess there's nothing for it other than for me to pick a weekend when I'm not busy, swallow a teaspoon of the stuff, and see what happens.