Processing food means many different process steps, including but not limited to chopping, sliding, mixing, blending, cooking, frying, heating, drying, emulsifying, packaging and carton filling. PTFE hoses are used to transfer the processed food and other ingredients from one station to another, often replacing rigid pipework to allow relative movements between the stations to avoid cracking.
PTFE has an ultra-low coefficient of friction; this means that foods will not stick, no residues will build up and use of oils and release agents can be reduced substantially or even eliminated. This leads to lower maintenance costs, and an increase in uptime and throughput.
In extreme situation, PTFE hoses are used in heated hose constructions to reduce the viscosity of heavy oil and other food to enable easy pumping between containers and transportation tanks.
PTFE is chemically inert; the hose will not affect the product conveyed in any way, even over the full range of its operating temperature range of -60⁰C to +260⁰C. It will not impart any colour, flavour or odour to food. PTFE will not absorb or remove ingredients, not even moisture.
The unique characteristics of PTFE hoses have resulted in it being widely specified within the food industry.