Food grade versus non food grade
Polyethylene is among the olefin polymers that federal rules allow in articles that contact food. That makes the material acceptable. It does not make a particular used bottle acceptable.
| Tote | Food grade? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New tote or new bottle | Yes, if handled as a food container | No prior use |
| Documented food-only history | Yes, with paperwork | Every prior fill is a food product |
| Rinsed or washed | No | History unknown or mixed |
| Reconditioned | Only with history | Original bottle remembers |
| Held a chemical | No | Chemical history |
What the records should show
- Who owned the tote and when.
- What it held each time.
- That none of those fills were chemicals.
- How it was cleaned between fills.
- The condition of the gasket and valve, which can also carry history.
Who needs it
Date packers, beverage plants, wineries and growers ask for food-grade history first. A grower running irrigation water to food crops needs it. A winery moving juice or wine needs it. A winemaker, a date packer and a beverage plant each have their own food-safety program, and that program decides whether the records are enough.
The CDC advises against storing emergency water in containers that held toxic chemicals and calls FDA-approved food-grade containers best. A used tote with food history is not an FDA-approved container by itself, so for drinking water use a purpose-made container.
How to ask for one
Say what the tote will hold and what records you need. See the food-grade totes page, the wineries page and the date growers page. If the seller cannot show the history, treat the tote as not food grade.
What a good history file looks like
A usable file is short. It names the original owner, lists each fill with a date, states that each product was food, notes the wash between fills and records the last inspection of the valve and gasket. One page is enough if every line is dated.
A weak file says only that the tote is clean. Clean is a state at one moment; history is a sequence. If a seller offers only the first, treat the tote as non food grade. If you are the seller, build the file now, because a file reconstructed from memory later is worth little.
A seller's habit that helps
If you hold totes with food-only history, write the file now while you remember, and keep it in a sleeve on the tote itself.
Auditors and certifiers
Food-safety auditors ask for evidence of supplier control. A simple file on each tote, signed and dated, is the quickest way to satisfy that question.
Food-grade and the law
Federal food-contact rules cover the material of a container, not the history of a particular unit, so a tote can be made of an approved plastic and still be unsuitable for food.
Questions people ask
Is a rinsed tote food grade?
No. Rinsing removes residue and leaves history unknown.
What is the difference between food grade and non food grade?
Food grade has documented food-only history or a new bottle. Everything else is non food grade, including clean totes with no records.
Sources. Last reviewed 2026-11-11.