From dairy preserve to distribution
Chino sits in the western end of San Bernardino County. The region's public television station has covered how warehouses pave over the historic dairy lands in Ontario and Chino, and a cheese-industry magazine called the city the Silicon Valley of dairy.
What stays is the kind of tenant: food and dairy processing, distribution and small manufacturing. Those tenants fill and wash vessels all day, and a food plant asks the question other sites do not: what did this tote hold before?
The food-plant question
A dairy or food processor wants food-grade history or a new bottle, and wants the paperwork that proves it. A rinsed tote of unknown past does not qualify. The food-grade guide sets out what counts, and the food-grade totes page shows how to ask.
On the selling side the reverse applies. A Chino plant with surplus totes that held only food products is selling something worth more with its records than without. Keep the log with the lot.
| Tenant | Question |
|---|---|
| Dairy and food processors | Food-only history, records kept |
| Distributors | Lot size, pallet condition |
| Small manufacturers | Chemical history, retest dates |
Sending the request
Use ZIP 91708 or 91710 and name the product the totes last held. A Chino site that cannot answer that should read rinsed versus food grade first.
Food-adjacent sites and their records
Food and dairy processing is the trade the public sources tie to Chino, and its buyers care about one thing above the rest: what the plastic has held. A processor will want food-only history or a new bottle, and will ask for the paperwork that shows it.
If you hold totes from a food line, keep the log with them: dates, products and the wash between fills. If you hold totes from a chemical line, say so plainly. The two are never mixed, and the food-grade guide explains why.
Keeping food and chemical histories apart
A tote that held a cleaning chemical stays chemical, even after a rinse. Store food-history totes away from them, label each group and keep the log with the group. The rinsed totes page explains what a rinse does and does not fix.
Writing the request for a food plant
Name the product that ran through the tote, give the date of the last fill and say whether a log exists.
Trades named in the public sources
The sources behind this page: culturecheesemag.com, pbssocal.org, read on 2026-11-11. A trade on this list is a reason a site there might buy, sell or clear IBC totes; it does not say any particular firm does.
- Distribution
- Food and dairy processing
- Small manufacturing
Questions people ask
Is Chino still dairy country?
Much of the dairy land is now warehouses, but food and dairy processing remain.
Which ZIP codes does Chino use?
91708 and 91710.
Sources. Last reviewed 2026-11-11.