CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : MSG Labeling Plan Causes Headaches

Arguments on both sides of the monosodium glutamate issue spiced up a hearing this week on a proposal to make restaurants disclose their use of it. Leading the charge against MSG, a flavor enhancer, was San Francisco Supervisor Wendy Nelder, whose proposal has angered restaurateurs. At a hearing Thursday, Nelder accused her critics of not caring whether diners live or die. Nelder’s proposal would require restaurateurs to put a small mark on their menus next to dishes that are made with MSG. But some restaurateurs disagreed, with Colleen Meharry of Miz Brown’s Restaurant, saying: “I’ve had more people with problems with mayonnaise. I have people who . . . say they are allergic to mayonnaise . . . but I don’t post that mayonnaise is dangerous to them.”