diff --git a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/util/lib/util.js b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/util/lib/util.js
index cd273dfae..3e35f7fde 100644
--- a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/util/lib/util.js
+++ b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/util/lib/util.js
@@ -566,7 +566,11 @@ function prepareJSONataExpression(value,node) {
     });
     expr.assign('env', function(name) {
         var val = getSetting(node, name);
-        return (val ? val : "");
+        if (typeof val !== 'undefined') {
+            return val;
+        } else {
+            return ""
+        }
     })
     expr.registerFunction('clone', cloneMessage, '<(oa)-:o>');
     expr._legacyMode = /(^|[^a-zA-Z0-9_'"])msg([^a-zA-Z0-9_'"]|$)/.test(value);