Reuse ledger, year to date: 41,200 totes diverted from Texas landfills this year. 2,060k lb of HDPE kept in service. 1,772k lb of steel cage recovered. 3,140 tons of CO₂e avoided. 92% of our wash water recycled on site. 68 Texas counties served from one Austin yard. Full methodology at /sustainability/reuse-ledger.

Product · food grade

“Food grade” is
a document, not
a description.

Name: Food Grade IBC Tote
Brand: IBC Tote Texas
Availability: InStock

Plenty of yards will call a shiny tote food grade because it looks clean. We keep food intake in a separate lane, wash it on a separate line, and hand you the paperwork that makes the claim defensible.

Wide view of a warehouse hall filled with reconditioned IBC totes on polished concrete

The short answer

A genuinely food grade used IBC needs three things at once: an FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 HDPE bottle, a documented history where every prior content was edible, and a wash to a written standard with recorded parameters. Our F-grade stock carries all three; when documentation is not available, we rebottle instead of guessing.

From the yard

Rows of used 275 gallon composite IBC totes stacked two high in an outdoor yard under a blue sky — Graded stock on the outdoor rows, stacked two high and waiting on a grade tag.

Close-up of a single 275 gallon IBC tote showing its capacity label, UN placard and blue ball valve — A 275 with the plate, the capacity label and a standard 2-inch ball valve.

The three-part test

What has to be true, all at once

Miss any one of these and the honest description is 'clean' — which is a fine thing to be, but it is not the same claim.

Compliant resin

The bottle must be HDPE meeting FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 for food-contact polyolefins. Every composite IBC bottle we handle is HDPE; not every plastic vessel on the used market is.

Documented history

Every prior content must be known and edible. One undocumented gap in the chain and the unit leaves the food lane permanently. We tag at the gate, not at the sale.

Recorded wash

A W4 caustic clean-in-place at 160°F with recorded temperature, detergent, sanitiser, date and operator. The record travels with the tote.

Wash standards

Five standards. Food gets W4, always.

We publish our wash standards so you can specify one rather than hoping. Nothing leaves the food lane below W4.

Published wash standards
Code	Standard	Process	Water	Temp	Typical use
W1	Rinse	Single cold-water pressure rinse, drain, dry	~28 gal, 100% recycled	Ambient	Grade C stock, recovery-bound units
W2	Triple Rinse	Three-stage rinse per EPA 40 CFR 165.117(k) practice, drain, dry	~65 gal, 92% recycled	Ambient	Grade A and B industrial stock
W3	Hot Detergent	Alkaline detergent wash, hot rinse, neutralise, dry	~85 gal, 88% recycled	140°F	Oil, sugar and residue-heavy prior contents
W4	Caustic CIP	Recirculating caustic clean-in-place, potable rinse, sanitiser, air dry, sealed	~110 gal, 84% recycled	160°F	All food-grade (F) stock — the record travels with the unit
W5	Customer Spec	Your written protocol, our line, documented parameters and sign-off	Varies	Varies	Managed fleets with an internal cleaning standard

Full wash standard definitions, chemistry and validation →

Intake to shipment

How a food grade tote gets that way

STEP 01
Gated intake
Food product arrives on a separate lane with a prior-contents declaration from the source. No declaration, no food lane — the unit goes to general stock.
STEP 02
Isolation and inspection
Units are held in the covered bay, away from chemical stock. Bottles are inspected for staining, crazing and odour retention; anything questionable is rebottled instead.
STEP 03
W4 caustic CIP
Recirculating caustic at 160°F, potable rinse, food-safe sanitiser, forced air dry, sealed lid and valve. Parameters recorded per unit.
STEP 04
Tag, record, ship
Prior-contents tag and wash record attached to the unit and to the BOL. We retain a copy for seven years in case your auditor asks.

Common prior contents in our food lane

What comes in determines what we can offer. The steady sources across Central Texas are sweetener and syrup houses, edible oil packers, juice and fruit concentrators, vinegar and brine producers, and liquid feed suppliers.

High fructose corn syrup, cane syrup, agave and molasses
Canola, soybean, sunflower and blended frying oils
Apple, orange and grape concentrate
Vinegar, brine and pickling liquor
Liquid egg and dairy intermediates (refrigerated chain only)
Glycerin, food-grade propylene glycol and flavour bases

When we will not sell you food grade

If you are producing allergen-free product, if your process authority requires a container-level certification we cannot honestly provide, or if the tote will hold product for an extended shelf-stable period, we will point you at rebottled units instead. It costs you more and it is the right answer.

Storage and handling once it's yours

Keep the lid sealed and the valve capped until fill. Store indoors or shaded — heat and UV degrade both the bottle and whatever is in it. Do not stack a full food tote on anything, and do not let a food tote sit next to your caustic fleet where a forklift driver can mix them up. Colour-coded cage tags cost almost nothing and prevent the one mistake that actually matters.

Questions people actually ask

+What legally makes a tote 'food grade'?

There is no single certificate that makes a used container food grade. What matters is a defensible combination: an FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 compliant HDPE bottle, a documented history in which every prior content was edible, and a wash performed to a written standard with recorded parameters. Anyone selling 'food grade' without all three is selling you a description, not a fact.

+Do you provide wash certificates?

Yes. Every F-grade unit ships with a record listing the wash standard, water temperature, detergent, sanitiser, date and operator. It is attached to the bill of lading and we keep a copy for seven years.

+Can I use a food grade tote for drinking water?

For short-term non-potable-rated use, most people do. For genuine potable storage we recommend rebottled units — a new bottle removes the entire question of prior contents, and the price difference is smaller than the risk.

+What about allergens?

This is the risk people underestimate. Washing removes residue; it does not give you an allergen-free guarantee. If you produce allergen-free product, rebottle rather than wash, and dedicate the units.

+How long does food grade stock take to get?

General food-grade 275s are usually available within a week. Specific requirements — 330 gallon, 9-inch lid, butterfly valve, particular prior contents — can take two to three weeks because the intake stream is what it is. Order ahead.

Quick reference

Numbers worth having open in another tab

The figures that come up in almost every conversation, whichever page you arrived on.

275 gallon · 1040 L

48×40×46

Tare: 130 lb
Gross, water: 2,425 lb
Stack full: 2 high
Stock: Always in stock

330 gallon · 1250 L

48×40×53

Tare: 160 lb
Gross, water: 2,915 lb
Stack full: 2 high
Stock: Always in stock

264 gallon · 1000 L

48×40×46

Tare: 125 lb
Gross, water: 2,325 lb
Stack full: 2 high
Stock: Usually in stock

350 gallon · 1325 L

48×40×56

Tare: 175 lb
Gross, water: 3,095 lb
Stack full: 2 high
Stock: Order in

Outlet thread

S60x6 — 60 mm coarse buttress. Not 2" NPT.

Grades published

N, R, F, A, B, C, X — applied at the wash bay.

Wash standards

W1 rinse through W4 caustic CIP at 160°F.

UN retest

Leakproofness 2.5 yrs, requalification 5 yrs.

From the yard notes

Longer reading on this

32 articles written by the people who wash, grade, weld and dispatch. No marketing copy in any of them.

All 32 articles

On the yard this week

While you're here

Pulled from the full FAQ, which runs to forty-plus answers across buying, grades, food safety, sizes, selling, compliance, delivery and care.

Read the full FAQ

Where we are: 3505 Montopolis Dr, Austin, TX 78744
Yard hours: Mon–Thu 7:30a–5p · Fri 7:30a–4p · Sat 8a–12p · Sun closed (Central Time)
Email: sales@ibctotestexas.com
Coverage: 68 Texas counties on scheduled routes, from one Austin yard.

+Are your totes NSF certified?

The resin in new and rebottled bottles meets FDA 21 CFR 177.1520. Container-level NSF/ANSI 61 certification is a manufacturer programme that does not carry over to reconditioned units. If your specification cites it, you need new containers and we'll tell you so.

+Are stained totes a problem?

Cosmetically yes, functionally usually not. Staining is a strong signal about prior contents, which is why stained units drop a grade, but a stained bottle holds liquid exactly as well as a clear one. It does make the level strip harder to read.

+What's the difference between Grade A and food grade?

Documentation. Grade A means clean, straight and presentable. Food grade means every prior content is recorded and edible, and the unit was washed to a documented standard. A shiny tote is not a food-grade tote.

+What about allergen control?

Washing reduces residue; it does not certify absence. If you produce allergen-free product, rebottle and dedicate the units rather than relying on a wash. No honest reconditioner will give you an allergen-free guarantee on a reused bottle.

+Can I put drinking water in a used tote?

For genuine potable storage, use a rebottled unit — the bottle is new, so prior contents are not a question. Documented food-grade stock is acceptable for short-term non-potable-rated use. General Grade A stock is not.

Tell us what's going in it.

The product determines the answer. Syrup and molasses are straightforward; allergen-controlled or shelf-stable production usually is not. Send the details and we'll recommend F-grade or rebottled, honestly.

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