Closures, orifice reducers and liners
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The closure is three components pretending to be one, and each can fail on its own.
The three parts
The cap, the liner inside it, and the orifice reducer fitted into the neck. The cap holds pressure, the liner makes the seal, and the reducer controls the dose.
Producers order the cap and inherit the other two, which is how a bottle that looks right leaks or doses badly.
Matching the reducer to the sauce
A reducer is a hole, and the hole has to suit the viscosity. A thin vinegar sauce through a wide orifice comes out as a pour, which is not how anyone wants to dose a hot sauce. A thick sauce through a narrow one does not come out at all until the bottle is squeezed hard, and then it comes out all at once.
Reducers come in a range of orifice diameters and in fitment styles. Test with the actual sauce at room temperature before committing to a case, because the difference between right and wrong is not visible in a catalog.
Also check the reducer seats properly in your neck. A loose one rides up when the cap is removed and ends up in the customer's hand.
Liners do the sealing
The liner is what contacts the product and what makes the seal. Pick one compatible with an acidic product; some foam and pulp liners are not, and the failure is a slow leak or a taint rather than an obvious fault.
Induction liners give a tamper-evident seal and need a sealing unit. Plain liners do not. Whichever you use, it must suit both the acid and the fill temperature.
Neck finish is the compatibility rule
A neck finish like 24-414 is a diameter and a thread specification, and it is the only thing that determines whether a cap fits. Bottles and closures are not interchangeable by size alone.
Order the closure with the bottle from the same supplier, or confirm the neck finish matches before you buy either. A cap that nearly fits is a leak, and it is the most expensive small mistake available in this category.
