Two criteria

An ordinary bottle nipple

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The second criterion Which is the most concrete quality test in this library And it is a packaging criterion Which is unusual drafting Ordinary is doing work in it The failure it describes is clumping And that is a container question Which is the clearest link between a container and a date anywhere Our liner data is the relevant field A plain lid is a reseal, not a barrier And a transferred formula loses the original seal entirely And the example is bracketed rather than operative The first criterion is the other half References

"(e.g., pass through an ordinary bottle nipple)."

The second criterion

Otherwise be of an acceptable quality, with the example given in brackets as pass through an ordinary bottle nipple.

Which is the most concrete quality test in this library

Not a specification, not a tolerance. Whether the product will go through the thing it has to go through.

And it is a packaging criterion

A bottle nipple is a delivery device. The quality standard is illustrated by whether the product can be delivered.

Which is unusual drafting

Acceptable quality is open-ended, and the bracketed example anchors it to something anybody can test in a kitchen.

Ordinary is doing work in it

Not a specified nipple and not a laboratory orifice. An ordinary one, which means the test is about real use.

The failure it describes is clumping

A powder that has taken up moisture forms lumps that will not pass a nipple. Which is a storage failure with a visible consequence.

And that is a container question

A formula container that admits moisture produces exactly the failure the criterion names.

Which is the clearest link between a container and a date anywhere

The date is selected on the basis that the product will still pass a nipple. The container is what decides whether it does.

Our liner data is the relevant field

Though this shelf is thin on it: 5 sealing discs out of 245 closures, and 174 plain continuous thread lids.

A plain lid is a reseal, not a barrier

Which for a powder opened daily is the ordinary arrangement, and it is not a moisture barrier in the way a heat induction seal is.

And a transferred formula loses the original seal entirely

Along with the date and the directions. Three things in one act.

And the example is bracketed rather than operative

Introduced with e.g., so passing a nipple illustrates acceptable quality rather than defining it. Other failures of acceptable quality are possible and are not named.

The first criterion is the other half

Nutrient content at consumption, which has its own page and is a different kind of claim.

References

21 CFR 107.20(c) requires on the label of an infant formula a "Use by ______" date, "the blank to be filled in with the month and year selected by the manufacturer, packer, or distributor of the infant formula on the basis of tests or other information showing that the infant formula, until that date, under the conditions of handling, storage, preparation, and use prescribed by label directions, will: (1) when consumed, contain not less than the quantity of each nutrient, as set forth on its label; and (2) otherwise be of an acceptable quality (e.g., pass through an ordinary bottle nipple)." Nothing on these pages states what other federal date labeling requirements exist or do not exist. law.cornell.edu

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. 421 rows: 176 containers and 245 closures. 125 to 7,571 mL with a median of 473. 109 PET, 45 PP, 20 HDPE and 2 glass. 129 jars, 24 tubs and pails, 23 bottles. 83 PET single wall jars, 18 PP single wall jars, 16 PP round tubs, 6 double wall round base jars, and 5 each of plastic square grip containers, double wall straight base jars, PE wide mouth containers and PET packer bottles. 52 clear, 44 white, 24 natural, 20 amber, 16 black, 11 blue, 7 green, 1 dark amber. Necks: 75 at 89-400, 31 at 70-400, 25 unrecorded, 9 at 110-400, 7 at 53-400, 5 at 120TT, 4 at 120-400, 3 at 100-400. Closures: 174 continuous thread polypropylene lids, 29 metal or aluminum CT caps, 16 dome lids, 11 round tub lids, 5 sealing discs, 3 plastic round pail lids, 2 phenolic, 1 plug seal lid, 1 metal lug or twist cap, 1 tamper evident lid. Buyability, a snapshot: 105 of 176 available, 71 not; 72 quote only; 18 full case only, with case packs from 16 to 3,150 and a median of 208.

Written from 21 CFR 107.20(c) and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Nothing here says what other federal date labeling requirements exist, how long any leftover keeps, or whether any container is microwave, dishwasher or oven safe: a published temperature range is not one of those statements and only a manufacturer can make them. The temperature range field is published on all 176 containers in this group and takes four values, of which only one, on two containers, spans a freezer and an oven.