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 WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Even as fears grow over contaminated imported wheat gluten in recalled pet food, U.S. production has been so eroded by low-cost imports that it can no longer supply domestic demand, domestic makers say.
Only four domestic gluten manufacturers, including two in Kansas, have survived the flood of foreign wheat gluten bought here in the last decade at prices cheaper than U.S. producers can make it.
When the United States removed quotas on gluten imports in 2000, prices plummeted by about half, said John Neufeld, chief operating officer for Dallas-based White Energy, which purchased a bankrupt wheat gluten facility in Russell, Kan.
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