Many buyers are confused about this issue when purchase vital wheat gluten from China, as an export manager with more than nine years(eight years with vital wheat gluten and food ingredients), I could tell you as below: there is no quality difference of vital wheat gluten from China. If you get in a hurry, you could find the answer above. For more information, please view the below article with details, let us find together from several aspects.
What’s vital wheat gluten
Vital wheat gluten is a light yellow powder, which processed from wheat or wheat flour raw material. It is made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch granules have been removed, leaving the sticky insoluble gluten as an elastic mass, the gluten is then dried and ground back into a powder. The simple conclusion is wheat or wheat flour is proceed into wheat starch and wheat gluten.
Vital wheat gluten application
As a protein, wheat gluten has a kind of application according to different areas.
Bakery Products
The use of vital wheat gluten in baking is a widely researched and documented subject. Those gluten properties responsible for successful baking include:
- visco-elastic properties for dough strength, especially in various pieces of bread;
- film-forming ability for gas and moisture retention to ensure proper configuration, volume, and texture;
- thermosetting properties for structural rigidity to provide needed bite characteristics;
- water absorption and retention capacity for product softness, to extend shelf-life and to reduce baking costs;
- gluten’s natural flavor enhances consumer acceptability of baked goods.
Much research and development work has been focused on the production of composite flours. Vital wheat gluten could play a major role in optimizing the use of native carbohydrates into efficient bakery raw materials. Banana, breadfruit, millet, cassava, maize, and others are being investigated.
Meat, Fish, and Poultry Products
The unique adhesive and film-forming character of hydrated vital wheat gluten and its thermosetting properties are largely responsible for its use in these products. When allowed to hydrate and develop fully, gluten forms continuous three-dimensional webwork of films that hold together the pieces of meat, fish, or poultry. These pieces may be flaked slivers or fist-sized chunks. After cooking, gluten’s thermosetting properties bind the pieces into an integral whole. The resilience, bite, and texture of cooked gluten closely resembles the physical properties of meat, fish, and poultry. Actual applications range from extended ground meats, fabricated steaks, canned “integral” hams, and turkey rolls, through wieners and bolognas, to fish and meat sausages, pizza toppings, meat pies, and others. The natural properties of gluten obviate the need for thermal-extrusion, except for convenience in handling in some applications. Blends of textured soy and powdered gluten perform satisfactorily.
Pasta
In pasta products, added gluten permits the use of lower strength regional flours. For normal pasta, added gluten also contributes to such end product qualities as an improved bite, reduced loss on cooking, more tolerance to overcooking, and improved canning and retort stability. The trend toward nutritionally fortified pasta products with soy and other ingredients generally requires makeup gluten to compensate for the dilution effect and loss of physical properties. Since the time between pasta dough formation and extrusion is generally short, rapid reconstitution or fast-acting gluten are required to ensure the attainment of full functionality.
Pet Food
The pet food industry uses vital wheat gluten in many canned luxury products to replace meat. The flavor of wheat gluten is acceptable to pets, even when used at exaggerated levels.
Why there is a saying of a different grade?
Different application
From the above, you could find that vital wheat gluten could be used in the food and feed application due to its Unique performance. Many users sharing food or feed grade is because of the different applications of usage.
Custom clearance to avoid tax
Another reason is the import duty is different for some countries, for example, there is a 5% VAT tax when import food grade vital wheat gluten, zero VAT tax when import feed grade vital wheat gluten. It could help importers save lots of cost during custom clearance.
How to show or proof feed grade vital wheat gluten then?
Importers will require “feed grade” on all shipping docs including invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, BL, Phytosanitary certificate, health certificate, etc.
Why some could provide feed grade and others could not?
Normally the hardest part to show “feed grade” are two certificates issued by local custom, Phytosanitary certificate, and health certificate. Of course for some countries, these two certificate are not necessary, then we could ignore them.
For countries needed, this is a little tough for exporters and suppliers since there is no saying of feed grade vital wheat gluten in China, also no regulation and standard for it. Many local customs are not willing to show “feed grade” on official certificates to avoid any trouble overseas. However still few could show in two ways:1. show “used in feed grade” on the remark of Phytosanitary certificate and health certificate.2.Show” vital wheat gluten, feed grade” as cargo description, this is because of the special relationship between factory and local custom.
Why say no difference?
First of all, there is only one general standard of wheat gluten in China, also as food grade which is GB/T 21924-2008, no feed grade standard.
GBT21924-2008Then, no matter what calling from buyers or importers, the production line is all the same for both feed and food grade. The quality is the same. Some importers tell the quality could only be used in feed application is because of the poor quality, not involved the different grade problems. Poor quality happens due to many reasons, poor quality raw material, production problem, storage, etc.
What should I do with this issue when purchasing from China?
There is no need to worry about this, first, you could check with your customer or end-users which application it will be used, food or feed application. If for food application, you just ignore this and go ahead. If for feed application and “feed grade” has to show on shipping docs, you could check with your China suppliers and find if they could provide such a condition.
Above all, I am sure you already have a clear brief about the difference between feed and food grade vital wheat gluten. Also, you are welcomed to contact us for specific details about vital wheat gluten.
