Tamper evidence, and when you need it

A shrink band costs pennies. Discovering at a buyer's receiving dock that you needed one does not.

What counts

A feature that cannot be removed and replaced without visible evidence. In practice: a shrink or stretch band over the closure, a heat-induction seal bonded to the bottle's land area, or a lid with a button that pops on first opening.

A plain cap is not tamper evident however tight it is, and neither is a sticker that peels cleanly. That substitution is common and it does not satisfy a buyer who specified the requirement.

Where it is actually required

Hot sauce is not in the small set of products carrying a specific federal tamper-evident packaging requirement, so for most direct sales you are not obliged.

What creates the requirement in practice is the buyer. Grocery, co-op and distributor supplier standards routinely specify it, and some state programs attach conditions of their own. Because it varies by state and by account rather than being uniform, confirm it for your situation rather than inferring it from any general statement, this one included.

What a market table needs

Nothing, legally, in most places. Something, practically, if you want repeat custom from strangers.

A band answers a question a cautious buyer has about an unbranded bottle from someone they have just met. It also protects you from the bottle that was opened and put back on the table.

Choosing between the options

Induction seals look cleanest and give the best barrier, and they need a compatible liner and a sealing unit, which is a real capital step. Shrink bands need only a heat gun and are where producers often start. Stretch bands need no heat and are slowest by hand.

Size the band to the closure and the neck rather than to the bottle, and buy a sample quantity first. A band a few millimeters out either slides off or will not go on, and that is not visible in a catalog photograph.

References