MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- General Mills Inc. is removing MSG from all 80 of its Progresso soups, the food company said Wednesday, responding to competitors' advertising.
The Minneapolis-based company said 26 Progresso soups are already MSG free and it plans to remove the additive from its other Progresso varieties.
Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is added to soups, stocks, potato chips, instant noodles and other foods to add a savory taste.
General Mills said it announced the in-progress reformulation to put pressure on competitor Campbell Soup Co., which launched an advertising campaign for Select Harvest soup that criticized Progresso's inclusion of MSG in recipes.
"Now that we have publicly confirmed our strategy on this, we don't know if Campbell's will follow us or not," Progresso marketing manager Kyle Duea said in a statement, saying that Campbell's has more than 90 soups containing MSG. "We do expect this move to put pressure on Campbell's."
General Mills shares fell $1.42, or 2.1 percent, to $65.15 in midday trading Wednesday.
