MGP Ingredients (MGPI)

Gliadin and glutenin are the two principal components that make up vital wheat gluten.  Our patented process enables the separation of glutenin and gliadin for a variety of end uses without the use of alcohol, which has been the traditional method of separating the two. Glutenin, a large molecule responsible for the elastic character of vital wheat gluten, increases the strength of bread dough, improves the freeze-thaw characteristics of frozen dough and may be used as a functional protein source in beef jerky-type products, as well as in meat extension.  Gliadin, the smaller of the two molecules, is soluble in water and other liquids, including alcohol, and is responsible for the viscous properties of wheat gluten.  Those characteristics make it ideal to improve the texture of noodles and pastas.  We produce vital wheat gluten from modernized facilities at the Atchison and Pekin plants.  Gluten is shipped throughout the continental United States in bulk and in 50 to 100 pound bags to distributors and also is sold directly to major food processors and bakeries.  Because of increased global capacities, along with subsidies and other protective measures afforded certain foreign exporters by their host governments, in recent years we had not been

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Gliadin
and glutenin are the two principal components that make up vital wheat
gluten.  Our patented process enables the
separation of glutenin and gliadin for a variety of end uses without the use of
alcohol, which has been the traditional method of separating the two. Glutenin,
a large molecule responsible for the elastic character of vital wheat gluten,
increases the strength of bread dough, improves the freeze-thaw characteristics
of frozen dough and may be used as a functional protein source in beef
jerky-type products, as well as in meat extension.  Gliadin, the smaller of the two molecules, is
soluble in water and other liquids, including alcohol, and is responsible for
the viscous properties of wheat gluten. 
Those characteristics make it ideal to improve the texture of noodles
and pastas.  We produce vital wheat
gluten from modernized facilities at the Atchison and Pekin plants.  Gluten is shipped throughout the continental
United States in bulk and in 50 to 100 pound bags to distributors and also is
sold directly to major food processors and bakeries.  Because of increased global capacities, along
with subsidies and other protective measures afforded certain foreign exporters
by their host governments, in recent years we had not been

7

Gliadin and Glutenin are the two principal components that make up vital wheat gluten.  Our patented process enables the separation of glutenin and gliadin for a variety of end uses without the use of alcohol, which has been the traditional method of separating the two. Glutenin, a large molecule responsible for the elastic character of vital wheat gluten, increases the strength of bread dough, improves the freeze-thaw characteristics of frozen dough and may be used as a functional protein source in beef jerky-type products, as well as in meat extension.  Gliadin, the smaller of the two molecules, is soluble in water and other liquids, including alcohol, and is responsible for the viscous properties of wheat gluten.  Those characteristics make it ideal to improve the texture of noodles and pastas.  Gliadin is also used in a number of cosmetics and personal care products described above under Specialty Ingredients for Non-Food Applications.

We produce vital wheat gluten from modernized facilities at the Atchison and Pekin plants.  Gluten is shipped throughout the continental United States in bulk and in 50 to 100 pound bags to distributors and also is sold directly to major food processors and bakeries.  Because of increased global capacities, along with subsidies and other protective measures afforded certain foreign exporters by their host governments, in recent years we had not been able to profitably compete with the foreign exporters and, until recently, had only produced gluten as a by-product in our production of specialty starches and proteins.  However, sales of our commodity wheat gluten began to increase during fiscal 2007 due to increased demand resulting from poor global wheat crops which yielded lower wheat gluten supplies than previously anticipated.  Sales increased further toward the end of the fiscal 2007 and into the start of fiscal 2008 as demand for safe, quality gluten backed by supply and service reliability became even more significant.  This situation developed following a major recall of pet foods containing contaminated imported wheat flour misrepresented as gluten.  In response to this demand, we have recently increased wheat gluten production at our plants in Atchison, Kansas and Pekin, Illinois.

Vital wheat gluten is considered a commodity, and therefore, competition primarily has been based upon price.  Our principal competitors in the U.S. vital wheat gluten market consist primarily of three other domestic producers and producers in the European Union, Australia and certain other regulated countries.

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cohesiveness and elasticity of the gluten enables the dough in wheat and other high protein breads to rise and to support added ingredients, such as whole cracked grains, raisins and fibers. This allows the baker to make an array of different breads by varying the gluten content of the dough. Vital wheat gluten is also added to white breads, hot dog buns and hamburger buns to improve the strength and cohesiveness of the product.