Food grade

What food grade means

On this page11

The olefin section Which covers polyethylene and polypropylene And a different section covers PET So there is no single food grade rule Subject to the provisions is where the work is Adjuvant substances is the phrase to notice Which is why a coloured bucket is a different question And why clean does not mean food grade FDA regulates the substance, not the phrase We do not use the phrase at all References

Not cleanliness. That is the correction this whole category needs.

The olefin section

"The olefin polymers listed in paragraph (a) of this section may be safely used as articles or components of articles intended for use in contact with food, subject to the provisions of this section."

Which covers polyethylene and polypropylene

The resins most buckets, jugs and pantry jars are made from. 65 HDPE and 24 PP on this shelf sit in that family.

And a different section covers PET

"Polyethylene phthalate polymers identified in this section may be safely used as, or components of plastics (films, articles, or fabric) intended for use in contact with food in accordance with the following prescribed conditions."

So there is no single food grade rule

There is a section per polymer family. Which one applies depends on the resin in your hand, and they carry different conditions.

Subject to the provisions is where the work is

Specifications, analytical methods, limits on density and melting point and solvent extractables, restrictions on optional adjuvant substances and their concentrations, and conditions of use by food type and temperature.

Adjuvant substances is the phrase to notice

Colorants, stabilizers, slip agents, antioxidants. A resin is not just the polymer; it is the polymer and everything compounded into it, and compliance covers both.

Which is why a coloured bucket is a different question

The pigment is an additive. Two buckets of the same polymer, one natural and one blue, are not automatically the same compliance answer.

And why clean does not mean food grade

Scrubbing changes nothing about which adjuvants were compounded into the resin. A spotless bucket that held a non-food product is clean and not food grade.

FDA regulates the substance, not the phrase

"Food grade" is industry shorthand for a material complying with the applicable food-contact regulation. Said precisely so nobody reads this page as a claim that the agency defines the words.

We do not use the phrase at all

We publish material and capacity. Food-contact compliance is a statement from the manufacturer about a specific resin and its additives, and we do not hold that documentation.

References

21 CFR 177.1520, olefin polymers: "The olefin polymers listed in paragraph (a) of this section may be safely used as articles or components of articles intended for use in contact with food, subject to the provisions of this section." Use is conditioned on the specifications in paragraph (c), the analytical methods in paragraph (d), limits on density, melting point and solvent extractables, restrictions on optional adjuvant substances and their concentrations, and the food-type and temperature conditions referenced in 21 CFR 176.170. law.cornell.edu

21 CFR 177.1630, polyethylene phthalate polymers: "Polyethylene phthalate polymers identified in this section may be safely used as, or components of plastics (films, articles, or fabric) intended for use in contact with food in accordance with the following prescribed conditions:" PET is therefore covered by a different section from polyethylene and polypropylene, with its own conditions. law.cornell.edu

Written from 21 CFR 177.1520 and 21 CFR 177.1630, and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. We do not hold food-contact compliance documentation for any product and do not describe anything here as food grade; that is a statement from a manufacturer about a specific resin and its additives. No shelf life, water treatment or seed viability figures appear anywhere in this property, because none of them are a packaging question.