There is a version of our industry where "food-grade" means the HDPE the bottle is made from was sourced from a food-safe resin — and that's all. We run into that version almost every week, usually in the form of a buyer showing up with a "food-grade" tote they paid $140 for online and wondering why it smells like floor cleaner.

Our take: food-grade is a chain. The resin has to be food-safe. The previous contents have to be food-safe. The cleaning has to be documented. The bottle has to pass visual and odor inspection. And the cage, valve, and cap hardware all have to be food-surface-rated.

If any one link is missing, the tote isn't food-grade. It might still be a great industrial tote. It might be a great rain barrel. It's not food-grade.

Our food-grade certification log attaches to each cage's chalk serial. If you buy a food-grade tote from us, the log comes with it. That's how it's supposed to work.