What is HVP?

Feingold Association - Pure Facts - October 1995.

Many processed foods have substituted hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) for MSG.  This additive may sound more natural, but it delivers a big dose of flavor enhancer which Dr. Blaylock considers to pose an even greater threat than MSG.  And if a diet soda is consumed with MSG/HVP, the damaging effects are multiplied.

He describes the manufacturing process of HVP (sometimes referred to as hydrolyzed plant protein): the major ingredients are "junk" vegetables, unfit for sale, which have high amounts of naturally-occurring glutamates.  Some sources named by Dr. Schwartz are: "old milk, decaying vegetables, or even pork blood."

The mixture is boiled in sulfuric acid for several hours, then neutralized with caustic soda.  This produces a sludge which is dried to make a brown powder, often spiked with added MSG.  "Not only does it contain three very powerful brain cell toxins - glutamate, aspartame, and cysteic acid", Blaylock notes, "but also contains several known carcinogens (cancer causing substances).  Incredibly, the FDA does not regulate the amount of carcinogens allowed in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or the amount of hydrolyzed vegetable protein allowed to be added to food products."

The principal manufacturer of both MSG and HVP is the Ajinomoto company of Japan.