I have someone in the family that is allegic to MSG. Currently I use Butchers BBQ in competitions. If they made something similar without MSG, I would also use it for home cooking.
Not to stir the pot too much, but are they really, really certain of that? MSG is one of those substances that many people claim an allergy to, but aren't. A lot of times it's actually a reaction to the sodium in the types of food that frequently have MSG in them. It's also in a lot of foods, even if MSG is not on the label.
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, protein isolate, and the ever popular "natural flavorings" can include glutamic acid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate
"Adequately controlling for experimental bias includes a double-blind placebo-controlled experimental design (DBPC) and the application in capsules because of the strong and unique after-taste of glutamates.[21] In a study performed by Tarasoff and Kelly (1993) 71 fasting participants were given 5 g of MSG and then administered a standard breakfast. There was only one reaction, and it was to the placebo in a self-identified MSG-sensitive individual.[18] In a different study done by Geha et al. (2000), they tested the reaction of 130 subjects who reported sensitivity to MSG. Multiple DBPC trials were performed and only subjects with at least two symptoms proceeded. Only two people out of the whole study responded in all four challenges. Because of this low prevalence, the researchers concluded that the response to MSG was not reproducible."
http://allergies.about.com/od/preservativeallergy/f/msgallergy.htm
"Mild reactions have been proven when MSG was taken in large amounts without food, but no reactions were seen when MSG was given with food (which is the way it normally is eaten). Reactions to MSG are not truly allergic; reactions may be caused by toxicities to the nervous system or even by an irritant effect on the esophagus. "
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_can_you_take_to_counteract_an_allergy_to_MSG
"The symptoms people get from MSG consumption are not due to an allergy. The active componet of MSG is glutamic acid which is used as an excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and is used in many other parts of the body as well. And it's the overstimulation of these nerve cells, including brain cells, by the excess glutamic acid that cause most of the symptoms. "
op2:
