Fermentation products containing monosodium L-glutamate are prepared by cultivating a glutamic acid - producing microorganism in a nutrient medium containing an assimilable carbohydrate source and an assimilable nitrogen source consisting of ammonia, ammonium hydroxide or urea, maintaining the pH of the medium within the range of 6 to 9 using appropriate additions of the nitrogen source, and after substantial L-glutamic acid is produced, adding sodium ions to the medium in sufficient quantity to produce sodium glutamate, further adding a non-hygroscopic, moisture-absorbent diluent material and drying the resulting product, e.g. by drum or spray drying. Suitable diluent materials are corn starch, limestone, soybean meal and soybean hulls. Suitable micro-organisms are Brevibacterium divoricatum and Micrococcus glutamicus. The sodium ions may be provided by sodium hydroxide, carbonate or lactate. The process may incorporate a decolourization or filtration step to improve the appearance of the final product. The product may be subsequently mixed with glucose and magnesium stearate and formed into pellets or tablets.ALSO:Animal feed supplements containing monosodium L-glutamate are prepared by cultivating a glutamic acid-producing microorganism in a nutrient medium containing an assimilable carbohydrate source and an assimilable nitrogen source consisting of ammonia, ammonium hydroxide or urea, maintaining the pH of the medium within the range of 6 to 9 using appropriate additions of nitrogen source, and after substantial L-glutamic acid is produced, adding sodium ions to the medium in sufficient quantity to produce sodium glutamate, further adding a non-hygroscopic, moisture-absorbent diluent material and drying the resulting product, e.g. by drum or spray drying. Suitable diluent materials are corn starch, limestone, soybean meal and soybean hulls. The sodium ions may be provided by sodium hydroxide, carbonate or lactate. The product may be subsequently mixed with glucose and magnesium stearate and formed into pellets or tablets.
