Every number in the rule describes a system. A bottle on its own meets none of them.
What the rule actually specifies
"A Category B infectious substance must be packaged in a triple packaging consisting of a primary receptacle, a secondary packaging, and a rigid outer packaging."
Three named layers
Not a better bottle. The thing that is tested, marked and shipped is the assembly, and the requirements attach to it rather than to any one part.
Which is unusual in this library
Almost every other property has a regulation about a container. This one has a regulation about a parcel, and the container is a component inside it.
We sell the primary receptacle
270 containers, led by 77 glass Boston rounds and 41 HDPE packers. That is the innermost layer, the thing the sample is actually in.
And not the other two
No secondary packaging, no rigid outer, no absorbent material, and no tested system. Said at the top of the property rather than discovered at the bottom.
Which makes this a referral page as much as a catalog page
Somebody shipping Category B needs a packaging supplier who sells and certifies the complete system. That is a different trade and it is the right answer to give.
The five leaves split across two situations
Culture media is a laboratory consumable in a bottle, which we can serve. Specimen collection, urine collection, swab transport and sample vial are specimen formats we do not make.
And most routine work is not Category B at all
The exception at 173.134(b)(11) covers samples taken for routine testing unrelated to infectious disease diagnosis where there is a low probability the sample is infectious. That is where a great deal of ordinary clinical work sits.
Which does not make the packaging arbitrary
A sample still has to arrive intact, leakproof and identifiable. The engineering reasons behind the triple packaging apply whether or not the rule does.
Read the triple packaging section for the numbers
95 kPa, 1.2 metres, 100 mm, 1 litre and 4 litres. They are specific, they are testable, and they are what separates a shipping system from a box with a bottle in it.
References
49 CFR 173.199, Category B infectious substances. "A Category B infectious substance must be packaged in a triple packaging consisting of a primary receptacle, a secondary packaging, and a rigid outer packaging." Absorbent material "must be placed between the primary receptacle and secondary packaging" and "must be of sufficient quantity to absorb the entire contents of the primary receptacles". "The primary receptacle or the secondary packaging must be capable of withstanding without leakage an internal pressure producing a pressure differential of not less than 95 kPa." "The packaging must be capable of successfully passing the drop test in 178.609(d) of this subchapter at a drop height of at least 1.2 meters (3.9 feet)." "At least one surface of the outer packaging must have a minimum dimension of 100 mm by 100 mm (3.9 inches)." By aircraft, each primary receptacle may not exceed 1 L and each outer packaging 4 L for liquids, or 4 kg for solids.
law.cornell.edu49 CFR 173.134(a)(1)(ii) defines Category B as "an infectious substance that is not in a form generally capable of causing permanent disability or life-threatening or fatal disease in otherwise healthy humans or animals when exposure to it occurs", to be described as "Biological substance, Category B" and assigned identification number UN3373. Paragraph (b)(11) excepts human or animal samples transported for routine testing unrelated to the diagnosis of infectious disease where there is a low probability the sample is infectious.
law.cornell.eduThe Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. The diagnostics and lab shelf is 600 rows: 270 containers and 330 closures. 5 mL to 946 mL with a median of 118; 71 containers at 30 mL or under, 105 at 60 or under, 154 at 120 or under, 248 at 500 or under. 154 HDPE, 103 glass, 13 PP, and no PET. 246 bottles, 19 jars, 3 jugs, 2 tubes. 97 white, 57 natural, 35 clear, 28 amber. Closures: 163 continuous thread, 44 child resistant, 32 dropper assemblies, 27 spouted, 19 flip top, 14 phenolic, 7 buttress, 6 specialty, 5 dome lids.
