MSG use grows in chicken taste race

McDonald’s testing the flavor enhancer to gain ground on Chick-fil-A.

In McDonald’s Corp.’s push to make a fried-chicken sandwich that better competes with Chick-fil-A, it picked up something extra in the recipe: MSG, the flavor enhancer that has both fans and foes.

The world’s biggest restaurant chain is currently testing chicken sandwiches with monosodium glutamate, an ingredient that adds a savory taste but has also drawn health concerns from consumers. The additive is popping up in the new sandwich undergoing trials in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Houston, as well as appearing at other locations in tests of sausage, soup bases and different crispy-chicken fillets.

Chicken is a big deal in fast food. Americans eat more of it each year than any other meat, and consumption is growing. McDonald’s for years has also tried to make a fried-chicken sandwich to rival Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta chain with a cult following. Chick-fil-A also uses MSG in its classic chicken sandwich among other menu items, as does Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, which last summer introduced a sandwich that sold out amid a social media frenzy.

“We are always listening to our customers regarding our menu offerings,” a spokeswoman for McDonald’s said in response to questions about its addition of MSG. Feedback and insights from the test will inform its future decisions, she said.

A representative for Chick-fil-A declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Popeyes confirmed its new sandwich has MSG, and declined to comment further on the ingredient.

Popeyes franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group Inc. said at a conference on Tuesday that the new sandwich was a gamechanger for the brand, and at a peak some locations were selling as many as 1,100 a day.