A food or drink launch is settled on paper before it is settled in plastic, and “food-grade” on a bottle quotation does not mean the pack can legally hold a drink. Four things decide it: migration and sensory documents, how the shape behaves on a filling line, what the closure seals, and what you can honestly claim about recyclability.
Quick answer
- Food-grade resin is not a compliance pass — the whole pack is assessed as a system against your food and fill conditions.
- Three documents usually decide a launch: an overall migration result, a specific migration result for restricted substances, and a sensory test.
- An 80–90 ml faceted bottle and a PET aerosol bottle with a valve are two different engineering problems — both fail on filling first.
What is the difference between food-grade and cosmetic-grade plastic?
“Food grade” describes a material, not a pack. A resin is cleared for a named food simulant, a contact time and a temperature. A bottle is more than its resin — it is resin plus colourant, closure, gasket, label, adhesive and ink, and the finished assembly is what gets assessed.
| Pack level | What is actually being cleared | What it does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Resin | The base polymer is on the positive list for food contact in the target market | Nothing about your colourant, closure or label |
| Food-grade bottle | Resin plus pigment or masterbatch, assessed for food contact use | Whether your specific sauce, oil or drink is compatible |
| Finished pack | Bottle, closure, liner, label and adhesive assessed together, with the food and fill conditions stated | Nothing about shelf life — that needs your formula data |
| Cosmetic-grade bottle | Assessed for skin contact, not for ingestion | Nothing about food contact at all; a cosmetic declaration is not a food declaration |
Two failure modes repeat. A cosmetic bottle is ordered because it is in stock and looks right, and nobody asks whether it was assessed for ingestion. Or a food-grade bottle is fitted with a cosmetic closure whose liner nobody can declare.
Which documents does food-contact testing actually produce?
Buyers ask for “the food certificate” as if it is one page. It is usually three results plus a declaration. Under EU Regulation 10/2011 for plastic food-contact materials, the headline number is the overall migration limit of 10 mg/dm² or 60 mg/kg, run against the simulant and conditions you declare.
| Document or result | Question it answers | What it depends on | Typical requester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall migration test | How much material transfers from the pack to the food, against the overall limit | Food simulant, contact time, contact temperature, pack area | EU and UK buyers, importers, retailers |
| Specific migration test | Does a named restricted substance stay below its own limit | The substance list — residual monomer, additives, colourants | EU and UK buyers; often raised by a compliance consultant |
| Sensory / organoleptic test | Does the filled pack impart an off taste or odour | The actual filling process and storage time | Juice, dairy, sauce and water brands |
| Declaration of compliance | Which resin, which additives, and under which conditions the pack may be used | The final formulation of the pack, not a sample | Anyone signing off a food contact file |
| Non-listed substances statement | Which substances are present that are not on the authorised list | Supplier declarations along the chain | Buyers with an in-house regulatory team |
A migration result is only valid for the conditions it was run under — a cold-fill juice and a hot-fill sauce need different work, and one cannot be stretched into the other. The sensory test needs a filled pack, so it is the one most likely to surface late.
How do you make a small faceted drink bottle that survives a filling line?
A faceted body is the most requested and most over-promised geometry in beverage packaging. Fill pressure acts on a non-uniform wall, so facets thin the body where the geometry changes direction — and the shoulder and base transitions are where a small bottle fails first, not the middle of the panel where it looks strongest.
| What the concept shows | What happens on a real filling line | What to specify or accept |
|---|---|---|
| Deep prism or disco-ball facets | Wall thins at every facet-to-facet transition; deeper relief slows release from the tool | A feasibility check against the drawing before a tool is cut |
| Mirrored or metallic finish | Coating follows the surface, so flow lines and thin spots show under shelf lighting | Inspect the first article under the same light as the shelf |
| Small fill volume, high line speed | Faceted bodies need lower fill pressure and slower line speed to avoid distortion | Tell the filler the geometry before they quote the line |
| A sphere or near-sphere below 100 ml | Stability and wall support at the base become the limiting factor | Accept a base footprint that keeps the bottle upright when full |
| “Just modify the existing mould” | Modification cost scales with how much of the geometry changes | Ask for both routes priced: adapt the existing tool, or cut a new one at roughly 30 working days |
Geometry is also a filling-speed question. An 80–90 ml faceted PET bottle will not run at the same units per hour as a straight-sided bottle of the same capacity. See bottle capacity and fill volume.
How does a PET aerosol bottle with a BOV valve fit together?
A bag-on-valve aerosol is four parts arriving from two different places. The bottle is an empty PET container with a 1-inch (25.4 mm) valve cup. The valve is a separate assembly — housing, gasket, spring, dip tube, orifice — and the actuator is a further part again.
| Component | Who supplies it | Why it is not part of “the bottle” |
|---|---|---|
| PET bottle with 1-inch valve cup | Bottle manufacturer | Produced on stretch-blow equipment and validated as a food-contact or cosmetic-contact container |
| BOV valve assembly | Valve supplier, or the filler’s approved source | Crimped onto the cup at the filling line, not at the bottle plant |
| Actuator and overcap | Usually the filler’s packer | Determined by the dispensing format — foam, gel or spray |
| Dip tube | Matched to the valve | Length depends on the fill level and the internal geometry |
That is why a valve does not ship with the bottle. The crimping equipment, the drive decision, the filling pressure and the leak test all sit at the contract filler. Quote the bottle, valve and actuator on separate lines with three lead times, and confirm early whether the filler has an approved valve supplier — a substitution changes the orifice and the foam behaviour. Because the product is pushed by the elasticity of the bag rather than a liquefied gas, wall build and drop performance matter more here.
What does a food closure have to do that a cosmetic cap does not?
A cosmetic cap is chosen for feel and finish match. A food closure seals, it measures, it shows evidence of opening, and it is itself inside the food contact assessment. Because the cap is fitted at the filling line, a rejected closure means a rejected fill.
| Closure type | What the food application demands | Order minimum at our factory |
|---|---|---|
| Screw cap with a flat liner | Written torque value, and a leak test on filled units | 5,000–10,000 pieces |
| Induction-sealed liner | Sealing equipment on the filling line; the seal cannot be re-closed once opened | 5,000–10,000 pieces |
| Measuring or dosing cap with a drain-back spout | Calibrated chamber volume matched to the dose printed on the label, and a seal behind the measuring function | 5,000–10,000 pieces |
| Tamper-evident break-band or button cap | Visible, irreversible evidence of first opening; the band is part of the food contact assembly | 5,000–10,000 pieces |
| Consumer locking closure | Transport security and accidental-open resistance for on-the-go formats | 5,000–10,000 pieces |
The decision that cannot be reversed late is whether the pack can be induction sealed at all. You can upgrade a liner; you cannot add a sealer to a line that never had one. The compliance side is in closure compliance basics.
How can a food brand describe recyclability without overclaiming?
Most recyclable claims fail on specificity, not truth. A single-polymer bottle is genuinely easier to recycle than a pack with a mixed closure and a PVC label sleeve — but “recyclable” as a bare word claims a collection outcome the brand does not control. Four statements survive scrutiny: name the material and the part (“the bottle is PET and can be recycled where kerbside PET is accepted”); name the design decision that helps (“the bottle, cap and label form a single-material pack, so no separation step is needed”); name what you have done rather than what you intend, with the certificate behind the figure; and name the limit — recycling rates differ by market, so point to local council rules.
What should be locked before the concept render is approved?
A concept image is not a specification. Seven items have to be fixed before a render becomes a drawing, because each one changes either the tool or the filling line.
- Nominal fill volume and brimful capacity, as two separate numbers. The brimful figure sets headspace and vacuum behaviour.
- Neck finish, and the closure that fits it. A drinks closure is not a cosmetic closure; decide this before the body is drawn.
- Fill temperature: cold fill or hot fill. This sets the material grade and whether the shape holds its geometry when hot. See hot fill versus cold fill.
- The filling line speed and fill pressure the geometry tolerates. Faceted and spherical bodies need a slower line.
- Dispensing format, and which components are inside the food contact assessment. Pour, pump, foam, spray or crimped valve decides the neck finish; name bottle, closure, liner, label and adhesive.
- Label and code geometry, and stackability. Barcode quiet zone, wrap coverage, and whether the label goes on before or after filling.
- Order structure per model and per colour. Minimums run at 5,000 pieces per bottle model and 5,000 per colour, with colour masterbatch at a 10 kg minimum per Pantone shade. The food and beverage range shows the stock starting point.
What buyers actually asked us
Company names, countries and order quantities have been removed.
“We need a PET bottle designed to pack aerosol products with a BOV valve — declared capacity 80 ml, brimful 100 ml, 45 mm diameter, cylindrical, transparent, no decoration — and, quoted separately, the one-inch BOV valve for that PET bottle, to be assembled with the actuator.” — aerosol and personal care importer, Latin America
“For the larger home format we are targeting a fixed dose per full pump stroke, with a consumer locking function, transport security and a tamper-evident solution. For the smaller pocket format we need controlled squeeze behaviour and clean, controlled dispensing.” — syrup and sauce brand, Europe
“I would like something around 80–90 ml that feels like a flavoured shot rather than a full ready-to-drink. The shape matters most to me — I would love the facets formed into the bottle itself, with a metallic finish if possible. Do you think a new custom mould would actually be required, or is there a way of modifying an existing design? Are your materials recyclable?” — beverage concept developer, Europe
Three mistakes we see every year
1. Treating “food grade” as the answer to a compliance question. It is a starting point, not the end. Ask for the migration results, the sensory result and the declaration as named documents at quotation stage.
2. Fixing the shape and negotiating with the filling line afterwards. Faceted and spherical small formats run at lower line speed. If the filler finds out late, your options are a slower line at a higher cost, or a different bottle.
3. Ordering the bottle and the valve as one line item. A crimped bag-on-valve system is qualified by two parties. Treating “bottle with valve” as one deliverable hides the valve lead time and turns an actuator change into a new quotation.
Frequently asked questions
Is a food-grade plastic bottle automatically safe for a drink?
No. Your drink, fill temperature, contact time and closure all have to sit inside the conditions the material was cleared for. A food-grade bottle with a cosmetic closure is not a compliant pack.
Can I use a cosmetic-grade bottle for a beverage launch?
Not without a food-contact assessment. Cosmetic declarations cover skin contact; ingestion needs a declaration of compliance for the finished pack.
What documents should I ask my supplier for?
The overall migration result, the specific migration result, a sensory test on a filled pack, and a declaration of compliance naming every component. Ask which simulant and conditions were used.
Are faceted and spherical drink bottles hard to manufacture?
Buildable, case by case. Deep facets complicate wall control and release from the tool, and a small faceted bottle runs at a lower filling line speed.
Why does the valve not come with the aerosol bottle?
Because it is crimped onto the bottle at the filling line, using equipment the bottle plant does not run. The bottle factory supplies a validated container with a correct 1-inch valve cup.
Can I claim my bottle is recyclable?
Yes, but name the material, the part and the design decision — for example that the bottle, cap and label form a single-material pack. If you state recycled content, state the percentage and send the certificate.
About Shijin Packaging
Shijin Packaging Products Co., Ltd. has been manufacturing plastic packaging in Shenzhen, Huizhou and Guangzhou since 2003. We hold more than 2,000 existing moulds, run ISO 9001, GRS and SGS audited production, and ship roughly 500,000 bottles a day for cosmetic, personal care, household, car care and food-grade customers.
Send us your product and your fill conditions — the liquid, the fill temperature, the closure and the capacity — and we will tell you which bottle, which closure and which test results you need before a tool is opened.