Shelf Life of HDPE Plastic Bottles

We just went through our IFS PACsecure recertification audit and we presently list the shelf-life of our bottles as 5 years.  I am trying to find a reference to get us to this timeframe.  Previously were told it is an industry standard.  I have searched the internet and find "unlimited".  The problem of using this timeframe evolves around Retention Records -- how does one record a timeframe from something that is timeless? 

 

This is a bit urgent--any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Daphne

The shelf life of the product inside of your containers would be shorter than the shelf life, correct? Could you send a sample of your HDPE container to a lab and do an accelerated shelf life study on them? HERE is a little information that may help.

We just went through our IFS PACsecure recertification audit and we presently list the shelf-life of our bottles as 5 years.  I am trying to find a reference to get us to this timeframe.  Previously were told it is an industry standard.  I have searched the internet and find "unlimited".  The problem of using this timeframe evolves around Retention Records -- how does one record a timeframe from something that is timeless? 

 

This is a bit urgent--any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Daphne

 

Hi Daphne,

 

5 years sounds like a convenient  interpretation of the "unlimited" i also saw quoted for HDPE in another table.  This one is only 2 years but If you are merely seeking a general plastics example to quote, can try -

 

haccp plan Rigid Plastic.pdf   421.54KB   291 downloads

I typically see 1 year or less for LDPE plastics. HDPE shelf life likely will depend on environmental stress fracturing. Maybe get some textbooks on the subject and see what they recommend for testing? Or grab some old materials and abuse them and see if they're noticeably different after 1 or more years. Not very scientific but it's a start for "urgency".

Thank you for your response and the HACCP Plan for Rigid Plastic attachment. The information in the attachment is very helpful.

The shelf life of the product inside of your containers would be shorter than the shelf life, correct? Could you send a sample of your HDPE container to a lab and do an accelerated shelf life study on them? HERE is a little information that may help.

Thanks again--this is an idea I will bring to our team.

Good suggestion--one of our considerations comes from the business side of things--wanting to make sure that the shelf life is accurate but not made so short that customers will want to return due to stated shelf life.

Hi Daphne,

 

5 years sounds like a convenient  interpretation of the "unlimited" i also saw quoted for HDPE in another table.  This one is only 2 years but If you are merely seeking a general plastics example to quote, can try -

 

haccp plan Rigid Plastic.pdf

 

Dear Charles,

 

This was of great help as I was also looking for information on shelf life. Is the shelf life defined herein applicable to PVC? Do you have any other files that I can use as reference?

 

Would appreciate more help. This Forum is a huge help.

 

 

Thank you.

 

Randy

Dear Charles,

 

This was of great help as I was also looking for information on shelf life. Is the shelf life defined herein applicable to PVC? Do you have any other files that I can use as reference?

 

Would appreciate more help. This Forum is a huge help.

 

 

Thank you.

 

Randy

 

Hi Randy,

 

Unfortunately Packaging not my area of expertise. The attachment I posted was a result of some extended googling/reading since most shelf-life articles only talk about the food itself or food/packaging combined. For example can see this earlier very short thread here -

 

http://www.ifsqn.com...ging-materials/

 

Maybe (eg Post 4) 3F has some source ideas ??

Hi Charles,

 

That's OK. I have been getting useful information from these threads. Will keep looking.

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Randy