The XP1211 - a Mashed Potato Coating
When it comes to mashed potato, one might think it is light and fluffy and will present no particular handling problem. Wrong. With it being so soft it has very little weight to help it move down a chute or hopper. Plus it can become as sticky as some other foodstuffs if butter or margarine is added by the manufacturer to alter the potato’s flavour and texture.
Industrially produced mashed potato is big business, with an active market in the ready meals business. The mashed potato is held in hoppers which are attached to dispensing units. The dispensing unit supplies the correct amount of mashed potato onto the ready meal. Clearly it is necessary to minimise the amount of mashed potato left behind in the hopper and dispenser to avoid costly wastage. Any mashed potato that is left behind has to be easily cleaned out so that the hopper can be reused without fear of batch to batch contamination. Potato build up also occurs on the conveyor mesh used to transport the ready meal containers should the dispensing equipment malfunction.
One’s first thoughts for a coating would be along the lines of TC2008F or TC1501F perhaps. Well established low friction non-stick coatings. But now there is something better – a coating that has been proven to work time and time again – XP1211. This coating was identified by Impreglon following discussions with a client who had mashed potato sticking problems. Proving yet again that when it comes to finding a coating solution for a problem, Impreglon is at the leading edge.