Spaghetti gets protein boost from corn g...( companies continuing experiments with s...),Health

The washed corn gluten meal has so far only been used for spaghetti, Wu said, although he sees no reason it wouldnt work in other pastas. In addition, it could potentially be used as a substitute for wheat in other foods, upping the protein content of flour and breads, although further experiments would be needed, he said.

The National Academy of Sciences recommended daily allowance of protein is approximately 0.36 grams per pound of body weight, described on average as 63 grams for men and 50 grams for women.

More than 2.5 billion pounds of corn gluten meal are produced annually in the United States, according to the USDA. A by-product of milling corn and making fuel alcohol, corn gluten meal is also used as an herbicide. Nearly a billion pounds of pasta were sold in the United States in 1998, for an average of more than three pounds of pasta per person that year. Any further uses would provide an additional market for the corn gluten meal, Wu said.