Bottles and closures

Glass, and why there is no plastic on this shelf

Updated October 2026

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Why oil is demanding Oxygen is the other half Vinegar is also hard on a container What glass costs Where a plastic container does appear Pack for the weight References

The shelf for this use is entirely glass, all forty of them, and that is the constraint doing its job rather than a gap in what we stock.

Why oil is demanding

An oil sits against its container for months, sometimes years, and it is a solvent. Over that length of time the question is not whether a material holds liquid but whether anything moves between the two, in either direction. Glass is inert and the question does not arise.

Oxygen is the other half

A long shelf life means a long time for oxygen to reach the product, and materials differ in how much they let through. On a product whose main failure mode is oxidation, the barrier the container provides is part of the shelf life rather than a detail.

Vinegar is also hard on a container

An acid at strength, sitting for months. The same argument applies from the other direction, which is why both halves of this property end up on the same shelf despite having nothing else in common.

What glass costs

Weight and breakage, and neither is small on a liquid product. A case of filled 500 ml bottles is heavy enough that freight is a real line item, and breakage costs twice because of what it does to the rest of the case. Both are real and neither changes the answer.

Where a plastic container does appear

In bulk and food service, where the container is opened in a kitchen, used quickly and never displayed. That is a different product line with a different shelf life expectation rather than a cheaper version of the retail one, and it is not what this shelf is for.

Pack for the weight

Glass full of oil is dense, and a case packed for a lighter product fails in transit. Dividers, a box rated for the weight and enough fill to stop movement are not optional, and the cost of getting this wrong is the whole case rather than the one bottle that broke.

References

United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil, 7 CFR 52.1531 to 52.1542, published at 75 FR 22363 and effective October 25, 2010. Voluntary standards issued under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. ams.usda.gov

United States Food and Drug Administration. Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 525.825, Vinegar, Definitions: “No standards of identity for vinegar have been established under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,” and each listed variety “should contain 4 grams of acetic acid per 100 mL.” fda.gov

Written from federal regulation, voluntary USDA grade standards, FDA labeling policy and published extension guidance, not from a laboratory. The infused-oil pages describe a real botulism hazard and are a starting point for a conversation with your state department of agriculture and a process authority, not a determination that any method you use is safe.