Vital wheat gluten, also known as active gluten flour, has a protein content of more than 80% and a complete amino acid composition, making it a nutritious and inexpensive plant-based protein source. Vital wheat gluten has a small molecular weight, spherical shape, and good extensibility, and wheat gluten with larger molecular weight, fibrous shape, and strong elasticity. When gluten absorbs water, it forms wet gluten with a network structure, which has good viscoelasticity, extensibility, thermal coagulation, emulsification, and film-forming properties.
Vital wheat gluten quickly developed into a worldwide commodity because of its abundant natural resources and good economic benefits, and is produced in large quantities in wheat-producing countries such as the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia, and has been widely used in industry for a long time. The utilization and development of research are becoming more and more prevalent in Japan, the United States, and other countries.
The main producers of vital wheat gluten in China are as follows.
Shandong Qufeng Food Technology Co. Ltd
Shandong Qufeng Food Technology Co. Ltd. was established in 2012, in response to the national policy of encouraging the deep processing of wheat. 800,000 tons of wheat, an annual output value of 2 billion yuan. At present, the company is one of the professional producers of vital wheat gluten, the domestic running wheat gluten, and starch production enterprises.
The main products of the company are wheat core flour, wheat core flour hanging noodles, gluten, wheat starch, alcohol, etc. The by-products are wheat bran, wheat germ, biogas, activated sludge, etc.
Xinrui Group Co., Ltd
Xinrui Group Co., Ltd.’s main business of the company includes Minsheng cogeneration and 300,000 tons per year of wheat deep processing circular economy industrial chain project. The wheat deep processing circular economy industry chain project takes wheat as raw material to extract special refined steamed bread flour, dumpling special flour, personalized nutrition powder, acidic baking powder, and other series of flour level by level. Then the flour is extracted from gluten powder (wheat protein), wheat A starch, B starch, and pentosan and then transformed into special and superior alcohol products and feed.
Anhui Ante Food Co., Ltd
Anhui Ante Food Co., Ltd. was founded in 2004. It is a leading provincial agricultural industrialization enterprise producing alcohol, starch, vital wheat gluten, white wine, and foreign wine from corn and wheat. The company is located in Anhui Province, covering an area of 350 acres, with 400 employees, including nearly 200 employees with a college education or above.
Henan Feitian Agricultural Development Stock Co., Ltd
Henan Feitian Agricultural Development Stock Co., Ltd. is located in Henan Province, The company’s main business is the production, sales, and R&D of corn and wheat starch and starch sugar, and it integrates grain storage and deep processing, heat production, and supply. It has the production capacity of processing 500,000 tons of corn and 240,000 tons of wheat annually. The main products are corn starch, fructose syrup, crystalline glucose, maltose and maltodextrin, wheat starch, wheat core flour, vital wheat gluten, functional sugar, edible alcohol, various by-products, etc.
Anhui Bi Lv Chun Biotechnology Co., Ltd
Anhui Bi Lv Chun Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is located in Lai’an County Fine Chemical Industry Park, with fixed assets of 600 million yuan, covering an area of 200,000 square meters, and sales revenue of over 1 billion yuan in 2019. The company produces 20,000 tons of vital wheat gluten powder, 80,000 tons of wheat starch, 100,000 tons of edible alcohol, 8,000 tons of Biluchun high-quality wine, and 80,000 tons of corn DDGS feed annually as its leading products.
