Shelf life of Glass container

Dear All,

I have just joined a Glass container manufacturer for Food, Beverage and Pharmacy industries. The company is applying FSSC 22000 for 3 years. I am reviewing some documents to prepare for the recertification some time next September. I saw in the Product description sheet which does not include the shelf life of product. Undestanding that some of product will be returnable container from the market after usage, so it is difficult to define the proper limit shelf life for our product. However, I still concern how we can well explain to the auditor if they ask about the intended shelf life since it is required in clause 7.3.3.2 of ISO 22000.

Thanks a lot and lood forwards to your advise.

Dieu Huynh

Do anyone have an idea on this topic please?

Hi, i'm unaware of any specific regulation or requirements for packaging materials (in terms of absoulte no.), it infact depends on the stability glass containers are practically impermeable and is absolute barrier to O2, water vapors, flavors and aroma as long as the integrity of the closure system is intact, however if transparent it is poor barrier from light. In addition, glass is chemically inert and guards contents from moisture and oxygen, and ensures that the freshness and flavor of its contents – along with the product’s shelf life

I can only say it can have a longer shelf life as long and can be recycled as many times till it meets its intended use.

Dear Sam30,

Thanks so much for your informative reply :) I will use this information for the coming audit.

Dieu Huynh

I agree with Sam.  

As long as not damaged can last forever almost.  :smile:

How long (maximum) is the shelf life of the products that go into the glass containers?

Regards,

Simon

Dear Simon,

Some products' shelf-life is up to 2 years. In case, we could not determine the shelf-life, what is the best way to set up the record retention time for the traceability purpose? Currently, we require to keep record for 7 years, but no one in the company why it should be 7 years but not less or more.

Could you please help with some ideas?

Thanks,

Dieu Huynh

Hi Huynh Dieu,

As per Simon, what do you think is the maximum shelf-life of products which will go into yr bottles ? I suspect that sterile canned goods have the global maximum (maybe 4 years, which is arbitrary value due to theoretically indefinite stability). (UHT is longer ?)

From memory (no idea as to whether iso22000 specifies, but usually not), a common conservative approach is to retain records for 1-2 years greater than the product shelf life. Record retention is often a  Regulatory function so perhaps this is where yr 7 years comes from.

Looks like (4 + 2) would work for RR  = 7. Perhaps you need to do some investigating. Hopefully you have already been "shipping" bottles for > 7 years with no problem.

Hi Charles.C,

So far, we have not received any feedback or complaint from product delivered to customer more than 7 years. I believe I can use this history information to prove "7 year" is the reasonable choice as well. :)

Thank you for your advice.

Regards,

Huynh Dieu